UNIVERSITY   OF    PENNSYLVANIA 


THE   GERMAN   DRAMA  ON   THE 
ST.    LOUIS   STAGE 


BY 


ALFRED    HENRY    NOLLE 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


(Smtumint 

NUMBER  32 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 
1917 


EXCHANGE 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF   PENNSYLVANIA 


AMERICANA  GERMANICA 

MONOGRAPHS  DEVOTED  TO  THE  COMPARATIVE 
STUDY  OF  THE 

Literary,  Linguistic  and  Other  Cultural  Relations 


OF 


Germany  and  America 

EDITOR 

MARION    DEXTER    LEARNED 

University  of  Pennsylvania 
(See  List  at  the  End  of  the  Book} 


UNIVERSITY    OF    PENNSYLVANIA 


THE   GERMAN   DRAMA   ON   THE 
ST.    LOUIS   STAGE 


BY 
ALFRED    HENRY    NOLLE 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


Ammratra  (fermattini 

NUMBER  32 


PUBLICATIONS    OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 
1917 


COPYRIGHT  1917 

BY 
ALFRED  HENRY  NOLLE 


The  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  with  gratitude  his  in 
debtedness  to  Professor  M.  D.  Learned,  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  the  encouragement  and  valuable  assistance  ren 
dered  by  him  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  and  to  Dr.  E.  M. 
Fogel,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  for  aid  in  reading  the 
proof.  He  further  wishes  to  express  his  gratitude  for  the  cour 
teous  treatment  extended  by  the  St.  Louis  Public  Library,  the 
library  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Missouri,  and  the 
library  of  the  Missouri  Historical  Society,  in  giving  free  use  of 
source  material  found  in  their  respective  archives. 

Alfred  H.  Nolle. 
Columbia,  Missouri,  July  7,  1917. 


381615 


THE  GERMAN  DRAMA  ON  THE  ST.  LOUIS 

STAGE. 


PREFACE. 

This  account  of  the  German  drama  on  the  St.  Louis  stage 
is  intended  to  form  a  contribution  to  the  history  of  Americana 
Germanica.  It  is  based  essentially  on  material  gathered  at  first 
hand  from  the  files  of  the  German  newspapers  published  in  St. 
Louis  contemporaneous  with  the  stage  in  the  various  phases  of 
its  existence.  For  the  period  1835-1898  the  Anzeiger  des  IV  e- 
stens  was  used  as  the  primary  source;  from  1890-1914,  the  Wcst- 
liche  Post  and  its  Sunday  edition,  the  Mississippi  Blatter.  These 
were  supplemented  by  other  contemporaneous  German  and 
English  papers  of  St.  Louis  and  in  several  instances  by  the 
Deutsche  Pionier  of  Cincinnati  and  the  New  Yorker  Staats- 
Zeitung.  The  files  of  the  newspapers  are  in  most  instances  com 
plete.  They  present  gaps  from  October  21,  1838,  to  October  29, 
1841 ;  October  n,  1843,  to  October  18,  1844;  October  23,  1848, 
to  October  20,  1849;  October  20,  1851,  to  April  19,  1852;  Octo 
ber  20,  1852,  to  April  1 8,  1853;  April  21  to  October  19,  1860; 
October  20,  1861,  to  April  22,  1862;  October  21,  1862,  to  July 
20,  1863,  and  in  several  isolated  instances  individual  issues  are 
missing.  The  narrative  history  of  the  stage  for  the  periods  repre 
sented  in  these  gaps  has  been  gleaned  from  other  sources,  but 
statistical  material  as  to  the  repertories  for  the  period  cannot  be 
collected.  If  records  for  the  period  represented  by  the  several 
gaps  are  extant,  diligent  search  has  failed  to  locate  them.  They 
are  not  to  be  found  in  the  several  libraries  in  and  about  St.  Louis, 
including  the  library  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Missouri 
in  Columbia,  Missouri,  and  the  excellent  German  library  in  Belle 
ville,  Illinois,  nor  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

Heinrich  Bornstein  in  his  memoirs  l  treats  in  some  detail  the 
period  of  his  activity  on  the  St.  Louis  stage  and  to  a  certain 

1  Funfundsiebsig  Jahre  in  dcr  alien  und  neucn  Welt,  Memoiren  eines  Un- 
bedeutenden.  Leipzig:  Otto  Wigand,  1881. 

"  St.  Louis  in  friihcrcn  Jahrcn.  Ein  Gcdcnkbuch  fur  das  Deutschtum, 
St.  Louis :  A.  Wiebusch  und  Sohn  Printing  Company,  1893. 


8  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

extent  the  period  preceding  his  activity.  E.  D.  Kargau  in  his 
St.  Louis  in  friiheren  Jahren  2  devotes  fifteen  pages  to  a  sketch 
of  the  German  stage  prior  to  1893.  At  the  time  of  the  opening 
of  the  Germania  Theater  the  souvenir  programs  for  the  initial 
performance  contained  a  brief  account  of  the  stage,  which  was 
substantially  reprinted  in  the  St.  Louis  Tribune  for  September  i, 
1892.  The  Anzciger  des  Wcstens  for  July  12,  1897,  reprinted 
that  part  of  an  address  on  "Die  deutsche  Biihne  in  Amerika," 
which  dealt  with  the  St.  Louis  stage,  made  by  Ferdinand  Welb 
before  the  "Deutsch-Amerikanischer  Lehrerbund"  convened  in 
Milwaukee.  This  account,  as  Welb  professed,  is  taken  almost 
verbally  from  Bornstein's  Memoirs.  Subsequently  the  Missis 
sippi  Blatter  for  July  2,  1899,  and  March  14,  1909,  printed  his 
torical  sketches  of  the  German  stage  in  St.  Louis.  These,  the  last 
of  which  was  compiled  by  Welb,  are  based  upon  Bornstein's 
Memoirs  and  Kargau's  account,  supplemented  by  a  brief  account 
of  the  occurrences  postdating  the  appearance  of  Kargau's  book. 
They  are  popular  articles  full  of  inaccuracies.  They  give  no  idea 
as  to  what  was  actually  performed  on  the  stage.  The  New  Yorker 
Staats-Zeitung  for  October  5  and  12,  1902,  contains  an  account 
of  "Die  deutsche  Biihne  im  Western,"  by  Carl  Pletz,  which  takes 
into  account  the  St.  Louis  stage,  but,  necessarily,  considering  the 
wide  field  the  article  covers,  in  very  brief  compass.  Of  these 
several  accounts  of  the  stage  only  one,  the  Memoirs  of  Bornstein, 
was  a  real  help;  the  others  were  suggestive  and  helpful  in  out 
lining  the  history  of  the  stage,  but,  due  to  their  inaccurate  or 
sketchy  nature,  had  to  be  used  with  caution. 

All  values  are  in  the  last  analysis  relative  values.  To  gain  a 
conception  of  the  literary  value  of  the  St.  Louis  stage  during 
the  various  phases  of  its  existence,  its  history  has,  therefore,  been 
divided  into  five  periods.  On  the  basis  of  these  a  statistical 
survey  of  the  literary  complexion  of  the  several  stages  has  been 
made.  The  statistical  material  on  which  such  estimates  are  based 
is  added  in  the  Appendix.  The  division  of  the  history  of  the 
stage  as  a  basis  for  establishing  comparative  values  is  not,  how 
ever,  an  arbitrary  division.  The  divisions  represent  natural  and 
logical  periods  in  its  development. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  9 

I.   1842-1859. 

THE  BEGINNINGS. 

The  first  German  theatre  in  St.  Louis  dates  from  the  year 
1842.  In  the  summer  of  1842  Rudolf  Riese,  an  actor  of  ability, 
originally  from  Berlin,  in  the  course  of  a  variegated  existence, 
became  stranded  in  St.  Louis.  A  number  of  young  Germans,  on 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  man  and  his  plight,  sympathized 
with  him  in  his  embarrassment.  Money  these  for  the  most  part 
poor  clerks  and  business  apprentices  did  not  have  to  offer  the 
stranded  actor.  But  out  of  a  desire  to  aid  him  they  encouraged 
him  to  arrange  a  series  of  theatrical  performances  for  his  benefit. 
To  this  end  they  offered  their  assistance  as  dilettantes.  The 
result  was  the  first  performance  of  a  German  drama  in  St.  Louis. :{ 
For  a  record  of  this  first  performance  we  are  indebted  to  the 
facile  pen  of  Heinrich  Bernstein. 

"Die  jungen  Leute  gingen  zu  einem  deutschen  Wirte, 
dessen  Gasthaus  an  der  dritten  Strasse  zwischen  Pine  und 
Olive  den  Schild :  'Zum  Bremer  Schliissel'  trug,  und  mie- 
teten  dessen  oberes  Lokal,  einen  langen  Saal,  der  als  Speise- 
zimmer  bei  Hochzeiten  oder  anderen  festlichen  Gelegen- 
heiten  benutzt  wurde; — aus  Zimmermannsbocken  und  Bret- 
tern  wurde  eine  Noth-Buhne  improvosirt,  und  so  weit  diese 
reichte,  wurden  die  weissgetimchten  Wande  des  Saales  von 
einem  Zimmermaler  zu  einem  Walde  umgepinselt — fiir  die 
Scenen,  die  im  Zimmer  spielten,  wurden  billige  Tapeten  zu 
Coulissen  und  einer  Hinterwand  zusammengeklebt  und  der 
Vorhang  bestand  aus  zwei  zusammengenahten  Bettdecken; 
— ein  paar  Holzstiihle  und  ein  Tisch  bildeten  das  Ameuble- 
ment  der  Zimmer-Dekoration.  Mit  diesen  Dekorationen 


3  Historically  authenticated  interest  in  the  German  drama  on  the  St.  Louis 
stage  dates  from  the  year  1838.  "Am  21,  September  '38  trat  der  erste 
Schauspieler  in  St.  Louis,  Icks  (vom  Konigsstadter-Theater  in  Berlin),  auf 
und  declamirte  wiihrend  der  Zwischenacte  den  Monolog  aus  'Wallenstein's 
Tod.'  Da  noch  kein  deutsches  Theater  existirte,  so  fand  dieses  Ereigniss  auf 
den  Brettern  des  alten  St.  Louis  Theaters  (amerikanisch)  statt  und  scheint 
von  Erfolg  gekront  gewesen  zu  sein ;  wenigstens  trat  der  Kunstler  noch  an 
verschiedenen  Abenden  auf." — Der  deutsche  Pionier  (Cincinnati,  1871),  III. 
275. — The  innovation  had,  however,  no  immediate  consequences  in  introducing 
German  drama  permanently  on  the  St.  Louis  stage. 


io  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

wurden  als  erste  Vorstellung  Schiller's  'Riiuber'  aufgefiihrt; 
— den  Thurm,  in  welchem  der  alte  Moor  gefangen  sitzt, 
hatte  der  kunstsinnige  Zimmermaler  so  tauschend  herge- 
stellt,  dass  er  aussah  wie  ein  riesiger  Gugelhupf ; — da  kein 
Lehnstuhl  fiir  den  alten  Moor  aufzutreiben  war,  so  wurde' 
eine  alte  Waarenkiste  genommen  und  eine  Wand  derselben 
bis  zur  Sitzhohle.  herausgesagt,  die  dadurch  gewonnenen 
Brettchen  dann  als  Sitz  auf  Leisten  genagelt,  das  ganze  mit 
einem  Bettuche  iiberzogen  und  der  Lehnstuhl  des  alten 
Grafen  war  fertig.  Hatte  sich  nun  irgend  ein  Muthwilliger 
den  Spass  gemacht,  oder  was  es  Zufall,  genug,  ein  Zipfel  des 
Bettuches  hatte  sich  in  den  Strick  des  Verhangs  verschlun- 
gen, — die  Vorstellung  ging  los,  die  vier  Mann  im  Orches- 
ter  hatten  eine  Ouverture  herungtergestrichen,  der  Souffleur 
gab  das  Glockenzeichen  und  der  Vorhang  rollte  in  die  Hohe. 
Aber  mit  ihm  ging  ztigleich  das  Bettuch  hinauf,  der  Lehn 
stuhl,  in  dem  der  alte  Moor  sass,  wurde  dadurch  riicklings 
umgeworfen  und  ein  heilloses  Gelachter  begriisste  diesen 
tragi-komischen  An  fang.  Der  Vorhang  musste  unter  stiir- 
mischer  Heiterkeit  wieder  heruntergelassen  werden  und  erst 
als.Alles  auf  der  Biihne  wieder  in  Ordnung  war,  nahm  die 
Vorstellung  ihren  Verlauf; — da  keine  Schauspielerin  auf 
zutreiben  gewesen  war,  so  wurde  die  'Amalie'  ganz  heraus- 
gestricken;  es  wurde  nur  von  ihr  gesprochen,  aber  sehen 
bekam  man  sie  nicht.  Die  Rauber-Statisten,  lauter  junge 
Volontars,  waren  viel  zahlreicher  als  die  Darsteller,  sie  hatten 
alle  ihre  Revolver  und  Jagdgewehre  mitgebracht  und  bei  der 
Rauberscene  im  dritten  Akt  wurde  so  furchtbar  drin  geschos- 
sen,  dass  der  ganze  Saal  dick  mit  Pulverdampf  angefiillt  war 
und  ein  undnrchdringlicher  Nebel  herrschte,  durch  welchen 
die  Talg-Lichter  der  Beleuchtung  wie  rothe  Pimktchen 
schimmerten.  Den  fiinften  Akt  wollte  aber  Riese  nicht 
spielen,  wenn  er  nicht  eine  Amalie,  wenigstens  zum  Tod- 
stechen,  habe ;  endlich  musste  die  Kochin  des  Wirths  ein 
weisses  Kleid  anziehen,  sich  die  Haare  auflosen  und  in  den 
dichten  Pulvernebel  auf  Riese  zustiirzen,  worauf  dieser  mit 
den  betreffenden  Worten  seiner  Rolle  sie  erstach  und  als  die 
arme  Kochin  nicht  gleich  umfiel,  sie  mit  der  Faust  nieder- 
schlug.  Von  den  letzten  Akten  hatte  man  des  Rauchs  wegen 
fast  nichts  mehr  gesehen  und  anch,  da  das  ganze  Publikum 
fiirchterlich  hustete,  wenig  gehort ;  am  Schlusse  jedoch 
wurden  alle  Mitwirkenden  mehreremale  stiirmisch  gerufen, 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  1 1 

worauf  die  ganze  Einnahme  unten  in  der  Wirthsstube  ver- 
kneipt  wurde.  Die  Zeitungen  jener  Zeit  haben  uns  die 
Namen  jener  Manner  aufbewahrt,  die  damals  die  erste 
deutsche  Theatervorstellung  in  St.  Louis  ermoglichten,— 
den  'Karl  Moor'  spielte  Riese;  den  'Franz'  John  D.  Hill,  ein 
bekannter  Holzhandler ;  'den  alten  Moor'  Heinrich  Fischer ; — 
Hippo  Krug,  spater  einer  der  popularsten  Wirthe  der  Stadt, 
spielte  den  'Schweizer'  und  den  'Hermann'  dazu ;  Georg 
Bressler  von  Belleville  den  'Schufterle'  und  Block,  von  der 
spateren  sehr  geachteten  Firma  Block  und  Evers  den  'Spie- 
gelberg.' — Die  Vorstellung,  die  im  vollsten  Sinne  des  Wortes 
Sensation  machte,  musste  nicht  nur  in  St.  Louis  wiederholt 
werden,  sondern  der  Ruf  derselben  war  auch  nach  dem 
benachbarten  Belleville  gedrungen  und  Riese  wurde  einge- 
laden,  mit  seiner  Gesellschaft  hiniiber  zu  kommen  und  die 
'Rauber'  aufzufiihren.  So  wurden  denn  die  'Rauber'  mit 
derselben  Besetztmg  auch  in  Belleville  aufgefiihrt,  und  da 
kein  Orchester  aufzutreiben  war,  so  zog  Hippo  Krug,  wenn 
er  auf  der  Buhne  seinen  'Schweizer'  und  'Hermann'  verar- 
beitet  hatte,  einen  Domino  uber  sein  Costume,  lief  ins  Pub- 
likum,  wo  vor  der  Buhne  ein  Klavier  stand,  und  spielte 
darauf  die  Zwischenakts-Musik,  wobei  ein  Herr  Ochs  mit 
Es-Clarinette  und  ein  Herr  Daun  mit  der  Violine  ihn  accom- 
pagnirten.  Nach  der  Vorstellung  wurde  wieder  die  Nacht 
hindurch  die  Einnahme  verkneipt  und  als  es  Tag  wurde, 
hatte  keiner  der  Darsteller  auch  nur  einen  Heller,  um  nach 
St.  Louis  zuriickfahren  zu  konnen ; — da  erbarmte  sich  ihrer 
der  Bierbrauer  Gottfried  Busch,  Hess  seinen  grossen  Bier- 
wagen  anspannen,  lud  die  ganze  Gesellschaft  hinauf  und 
fiihrte  sie  unentgeltlich  nach  St.  Louis  zurikk."  4 

Encouraged  by  the  success  of  his  venture,  Riese,  who,  in  the 
newspaper  advertisements  announcing  his  performances,  styled 
himself  "friiherer  Direktor  der  deutschen  Oper  zu  Philadelphia 
und  Direktor  des  deutschen  Theaters  in  New  Orleans,"  announced 
a  series  of  performances  under  his  directorship  in  "Rankens 
Lokal,"  at  irregular  intervals  dating  from  July  2  to  October  29, 
1842.  The  exact  date  of  the  memorable  Rauber  performance  is 
not  recorded.  The  programs  of  these  half  dozen  performances, 


4  Memoir  en  II,  240  ff. 


12  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

including  the  initial  R'duber  performance,  were  made  up  of  the 
following  plays:  Die  Raubcr  und  Dcr  Eckensteher  Nante  im 
Verhor  each  three  times,  Die  Braut  and  Die  Himmelfahrt  ernes 
Saufers  twice  each,  and  Der  Nachtwdchter  and  Die  Seelenwan- 
dentng  once  each.  These  plays  were  announced  anonymously. 
Usually  two  or  three  of  the  shorter  plays  were  given  at  one  per 
formance,  as  was  regularly  the  custom  followed  in  the  numerous 
Volkstheater,  which  made  their  appearance  a  decade  and  a  half 
later,  and  in  the  Liebhabertheater,  which  occupied  the  intervening 
period. 

The  theatre  established  by  Riese  r>  was  short-lived.  It  could 
lay  little  claim  to  artistic  or  dramaturgical  excellency.  But  it 
deserves  recognition  because  it  was  epoch-making  in  the  cultural 
history  of  the  German  element  of  St.  Louis.  From  it  may  be 
traced  the  history  of  the  institution,  which,  thru  the  vicissitudes 
of  more  than  seven  decades,  has  without  serious  interruption,  but 
with  varying  degrees  of  fortune  continued  to  the  present  day  to 
fulfill  a  cultural  mission. 

The  period  in  the  history  of  the  German  stage  in  St.  Louis 
beginning  with  Riese's  venture  in  1842  till  the  establishment  of 
the  St.  Louis  Opernhaus,  the  first  permanent  theatre,  in  1859, 
constitutes  the  period  of  the  beginnings.  Attempts  to  establish 
a  German  theatre  on  a  professional  basis  during  the  period  proved 
ineffectual  and  short-lived.  German  theatricals  during  the  greater 
part  of  this  period  rested  in  the  hands  of  amateur  or  semi-profes 
sional  organizations,  in  which  one  or  several  professional  actors 
usually  formed  the  nucleus,  around  which1  a  group  of  dilettantes 
concentrated  their  efforts.  The  number  of  dilettantes  who  in  the 
midst  of  their  work-a-day  activities  could  find  leisure  to  study 
roles  and  take  part  in  theatricals  was  not  a  large  one,  yet  among 
the  young  men  of  that  day  there  was  a -sufficient  number  of  ade 
quate  talent  to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  Liebhabertheater,  who 


5  Ricsc  imposed  upon  his  St.  Louis  friends  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
were  glad  to  rid  themselves  of  him.  They  collected  money  with  which  to 
send  him  to  Philadelphia  where  he  was  engaged  as  haritone  in  an  Italian 
opera  company.  Under  the  name  of  Hcnedetti  he  sang  in  Italian  opera  for 
several  years  in  Xew  York,  Philadelphia,  P.oston,  and  other  cities,  until  he 
lost  his  voice.  He  died  in  18^9  in  the  Poor  House  on  Blackwells  Island,  New 
York. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  13 

showed  willingness  to  take  part.  In  consequence  it  was  always 
possible  for  a  professional  actor  or  director  coining  to  the  city 
to  find  ample  support  to  enable  him  to  engage  in  his  profession. 

Of  the  Liebhabertheater  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  Riese's 
venture  the  first  to  be  organized  was  opened  September  16,  1843, 
under  the  directorate  of  Christian  and  Louise  Thielemann. 
Thielemann  and  his  wife  were  both  experienced  actors.  Mme. 
Thielemann  (Louise  Ehlers),  prior  to  her  marriage,  had  been 
engaged  at  the  royal  theatre  in  Kassel.  Both  had  played  in  New 
York  and  New  Orleans.  They  subsequently  became  theatre  di 
rectors  in  Chicago.  The  principal  amateurs  cooperating  with 
them  were  Christian  Kribben,  a  well-known  lawyer;  his  brother 
Wilhelm,  a  Mississippi  River  pilot;  Benkendorf,  a  journalist; 
Herman  Aschenbach,  Julius  Buchel,  A.  U.  Ross  (Post-Ross), 
Henry  Lischer,  Wilhelm  Mackwitz,  Hippo  Krug,  and  Georg 
Reichard  and  wife.  The  Thielemanns .played  with  this  organiza 
tion  for  three  successive  winter  seasons,  with  occasional  perform 
ances  in  the  summer  of  1845.  The  directorship  of  the  society, 
with  the  second  season,  however,  passed  into  the  hands  of  John 
D.  Hill,  a  dilettante  who  had  played  under  Riese.  The  season 
1845-1846  closed  May  n.  A  season  of  post-season  perform 
ances  followed,  for  charitable  purposes,  at  irregular  intervals, 
ending  December  12,  1846.  Performances  during  the  three 
years  of  the  existence  of  this  Liebhabertheater  had  been  bi 
weekly.  During  the  first  season  of  its  existence  performances 
were  held  "im  Salon  der  Hrn.  Angelbeck  und  Linkemeier,"  at 
Third  and  Walnut  Streets;  during  the  last  two  seasons  in  the 
Vaudeville  Theatre  at  24  North  Main  Street.  The  price  of  ad 
mission  was  fifty  cents  for  single  performances,  one  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  for  six  performances  by  subscription. 

Following  the  last  of  these  performances  there  was  a  lull 
in  German  theatricals  for  more  than  a  year,  until  this  same  group 
of  amateurs  reorganized  December  7,  1847,  under  the  presidency 
of  Adolph  Abels,  into  the  Thalia  Gesellschaft  The  purpose  of 
the  new  society  was  not  only  to  institute  amateur  theatrical  per- 
formances,  but  also  to  arrange  balls  and  other  social  gatherings 
for  the  benefit  of  its  members  and  friends.  Its  theatrical  per- 


14  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

formances  differed  from  those  of  the  Liebhabertheater  which 
had  preceded  it  in  that  only  amateurs  were  to  take  part  and  that 
only  members  of  the  society  and  their  friends  were  to  be  ad 
mitted  to  the  performances,  tho  exception  was  made  to  the  latter 
rule  on  evenings  especially  set  aside  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
public.  The  Kribben  brothers  continued  to  be  the  spirit  and  soul 
of  the  new  organization.  It  opened  its  first  season  January  5, 
1848,  in  a  building  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Pine  Streets.  Per 
formances  were  usually  given  weekly  on  Wednesday  evenings. 
The  price  of  admission  for  non-members  varied  between  twenty- 
five  and  fifty  cents. 

With  the  second  year  of  its  existence  the  Thalia  Gesellschaft 
was  reorganized  as  the  St.  Louis  Sangerbund.  With  the  reorgan 
ization  of  the  society  debates  and  declamatory  exercises  became 
its  chief  activity,  to  the  exclusion  of  German  theatricals,  for  sev 
eral  years  to  follow. 

In  the  spring  of  1851  Xaver  Strasser,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  two  daughters  and  stepson,  all  actors  by  profession,  came 
to  St.  Louis.  Supported  by  local  amateurs,  among  whom  Adal 
bert  Lohr  especially  distinguished  himself,  Strasser  on  the  7th 
of  April  opened  a  Liebhabertheater  in  the  "Tontine,"  on  Second 
Street  near  Elm.  After  several  performances  there  he  built  and 
moved  into  a  summer  theatre  in  what  was  then  Arsenal  Park. 
Strasser  proved  a  failure  as  a  director.  His  theatre  in  the  "Ton 
tine"  had  promised  well.  But  his  summer  theatre — "eine  grosse 
dunkle,  nur  mit  wenigen  Luftlochern  versehene  Bretterbude"- 
proved  a  fiasco  from  the  start.  It  came  to  an  abrupt  close  August 
24,  whereupon  the  Strasser  family  at  once  left  the  city. 

Strasser's  ill-fated  attempt  as  director  was  followed  by 
another  lull  which  lasted  until  the  dramatic  talent  of  the  St.  Louis 
Sangerbund  again  became  active.  From  February  till  May,  1852, 
the  Sangerbund  gave  biweekly  performances  in  the  old  Wash 
ington  Hall.  From  December,  1852,  till  the  spring  of  1853  it 
performed  occasionally  in  the  Varieties  Theatre,  in  the  People's 
Theatre  and  in  the  Bates  Theatre. 

In  1850  there  was  called  to  editorial  leadership  of  the 
Anzcigcr  dcs  West  ens  a  man  who  more  than  any  other  one  man 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  15 

of  his  day  was  instrumental  in  the  cultural  and  educational  uplift 
of  the  German  clement  of  St.  Louis.  "Bildung  ist  Macht"  was 
his  watchword.  He  was  instrumental  in  organizing  the  Freie- 
Manner-Verein  which  established  German  schools  for  boys,  and 
evening  and  Sunday  classes  for  grown  people.  In  connection 
with  Franz  Schmidt  he  established  a  school  for  girls.  He  lectured 
extensively  on  a  variety  of  topics  and  even  taught,  for  a  time,  in 
the  girls'  school  he  had  helped  to  establish.  Thru  the  fcuilleton 
columns  of  the  Anzeiger,  of  which  he  became  sole  proprietor 
in  May,  1851,  and  thru  his  aggressive  and  somewhat  sensational 
policy  made  the  most  widely  circulating  German  newspaper  in 
the  West,  especially  in  the  Sunday  edition,  the  Westlichc  Blatter, 
and  thru  the  publication  in  book  form  of  a  library  of  German 
belles  lettres  he  disseminated  much  wholesome  literature  among 
his  fellow-countrymen.  This  man,  Dr.  Heinrich  Bornstein,6  had 
come  to  America  with  a  varied  and  rich  experience,  not  only  as 
a  journalist,  but  more  especially  as  an  actor  and  impressario  and 
playwright.  In  the  course  of  his  long  and  busy  life  of  four  score 
and  seven  years  his  varied  career  launched  him  into  diverse  fields 
of  activity,  but  the  lure  of  the  stage  constantly  attracted  him  in 
one  capacity  or  the  other.  His  old  friend  and  journalistic  col 
league,  Emil  Klauprecht,  writing  his  necrolog  from  Vienna,  says 
of  him,  "Wer  Bornstein's  Charakter,  seine  Naturanlagen,  geistige 
Eigenschaften  und  Temperament  mit  einem  Wort  bezeichnen 
soil,  wird  ihn  ein  Theaterkind  in  der  vollsten  Bedeutung  des 

*  Bornstein,  whose  father,  prior  to  his  marriage,  had  been  a  successful 
actor,  was  born  in  Hamburg,  November  4,  1805.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was 
taken  to  Lemberg,  in  Austrian  Poland.  After  having  studied  for  a  year  at 
the  University  of  Lemberg  he,  in  1821,  entered  the  Austrian  army,  in  which 
he  served  for  five  years.  In  1826  he  studied  medicine  in  Vienna,  and  at  the 
same  time  did  editorial  work  for  Carl  Eduard  Reinold.  From  1826-1827 
he  worked  for  Bauerle  on  the  'Theaterzeitung."  From  1827-1828  he  was 
secretary  of  the  combined  Josephstadt  Theater  and  the  Theater  an  der  Wien, 
under  Carl.  For  several  years  following  he  served  as  stage  manager  in  sev 
eral  of  the  leading  cities  of  Germany  and  Italy.  In  1841,  with  his  wife, 
whom  he  married  in  1829,  he  performed  with  success  in  star  engagements  in 
the  leading  German  cities.  The  following  year  he  went  to  Paris,  where  he 
became  manager  first  of  the  German  Opera,  later  of  the  Italian  Opera.  Dur 
ing  the  revolutionary  days  of  1848  he  was  engaged  in  journalistic  and  literary 
pursuits  in  Paris.  With  the  return  of  Bonaparte  to  power  as  dictator,  Born 
stein,  the  enthusiastic  advocate  of  political  freedom,  early  in  1849  emigrated 
to  America.  A.fter  a  short  stay  in  Highlands,  Illinois,  where  he  did  efficient 
service  as  physician  during  an  epidemic  of  cholera,  he  accepted  the  editorship 
of  the  Anzeiger  des  West  ens,  March  8,  1850. 


1 6  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

Wortes  nennen.  Bis  zum  Ende  1st  er  ein  solches  geblieben,  es  lag 
in  seinem  Blutc,  seiner  Erziehung  und  den  Umgcbungen  seiner 
Jugend."  7  Bornstein  believed  in  the  stage  as  a  great  cultural 
and  educational  and  moral  force.  He  writes  in  his  Memoircn, 
"Die  beste  Schule  der  Erwachsenen,  die  wahre  Bildung  fur  das 
Volk,  bietet  inimer  die  Schaubuhne  und  Wahrheiten,  die  in 
Biichern  nur  zur  Kenntniss  von  Wenigen  gelangen,  dringen  von 
dem  Podium  dcs  Theaters  aus,  schnell  und  tiei  in  die  Massen 
und  fassen  feste  Wnrzcln.  Die  beste  Schule  des  Volkes  ist  und 
bleibt  eine  gute  Biihne  und  die  Auffiihrung  von  Lessings  'Nathan 
der  Weise/  von  Schillers  'Don  Carlos,'  von  Goethes  'Faust'  und 
'Eginont'  verbreitet  nichr  genialle  Ideen  und  hebt  und  veredelt 
die  Massen  mehr  als  alle  Biicher-  und  Kathedcr- \Veisheit  und 
alle  Kanzelberedsamkeit."  He  had  early  entertained  the  desire 
of  giving  to  St.  Louis  a  German  stage  that  should  take  rank  with 
the  best  in  Germany,  but  wisely  realized  the  necessity  of  making 
a  small  beginning  and  gradually  working  up  to  the  desired  goal. 
"Es  war  mein  heissester  Wunsch,  in  St.  Louis  ein  deutsches  Thea 
ter  zu  griinden,  aber  die  .  .  .  Schwierigkeiten,  besonders  der 
Mangel  an  guten  deutschen  Schauspielern  stclltcn  meinen 
Wiinschen  uniibersteigliche  Hindernisse  entgegen; — ja  es  mussten 
noch  viele  Jahre  vergehen,  ehe  ich  an  die  Realisirung  eines  wirk- 
lichcn  stabilcn  deutschen  Theaters  denkcn  konnte.  Das  Hochste, 
das  im  damaligen  Augenblicke  erreichbar  war,  waren  demnach 
Dilettantcn-Vorstellungen ;  abcr  bcsserc,  sorgfaltiger  vorbcreitete 
und  kimstlerischer  geleitete  Dilettanten-Vorstellungen,  als  man 
bisher  zu  sehen  gewohnt  gewescn  war."  9 

To  the  end  he  had  in  view  Bornstein  in  1853  organized  the 
Philodramatische  Gesellschaft.  lie  found  for  his  purpose  among 
his  friends  and  acquaintances  a  number  who  showed  promise, 
with  proper  training,  of  developing  into  good  actors,  who  enthu 
siastically  embraced  his  cause  and  volunteered  their  services. 
What  they  lacked  in  innate  histrionic  ability  had  to  be  made  up 
by  diligence  and  enthusiasm.  At  first  Bornstein  himself  and  his 

1  Anccifjcr  dcs  IVestcns,  October  9,  1892. 
"Op.  cit,  II,  222. 
9  Op.  cit.,  II,  223. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  17 

talented  wife  had  to  bear  the  burden  of  work  in  the  new  organi 
zation.  Bornstein  acted  as  stage  manager  and  acted  in  the  roles 
of  bon  vivant  and  comic  character.  Under  stress  of  necessity 
it  even  became  necessary  for  him  in  several  instances  to  depart 
from  his  accustomed  line  to  play  the  part  of  fool  or  jeune  premier. 
Mine.  Bornstein — Marie  Stelzer,  in  her  youth  a  danseuse  trained 
under  the  eye  of  the  French  ballet  master,  Beauval — performed 
with  much  success  as  soubrette  of  the  organization.  The  first 
season  offered  difficulties  to  the  stage  manager.  To  adequately 
fill  the  role  of  leading  lady  (Salon-Liebhaberin)  presented  a 
problem.  Volunteers  were  not  lacking.  But  none  in  the  environ 
ment  of  the  unsophisticated  new  world  had  had  opportunity  to 
acquire  the  necessary  acquaintance  with  the  life  which  they  were 
supposed  to  interpret.  The  male  contingent  of  the  organization 
were  willing  workers,  but  the  busy  life  of  a  growing  Western 
metropolis  did  not  always  afford  the  necessary  leisure  for  mem 
orizing  the  parts  assigned  them  with  the  precision  demanded  by 
an  exacting  stage  manager.  But  the  really  capable  dilettantes 
under  the  professional  guidance  of  Bornstein  and  his  wife  gained 
in  attainment  from  performance  to  performance.  The  second 
season  brought  the  acquisition  of  a  very  valuable  asset  in  a  young 
Austrian  physician,  Rudolf  Gussmann,  who  had  emigrated  to 
America  on  account  of  political  banishment  from  his  native  coun 
try.  Gussmann  possessed  marked  histrionic  talent  and  literary 
ability.  He  for  this  season  assumed  the  role  of  leading  gentleman 
(Salon-Liebhaber)  which  Bornstein  had  found  difficult  to  fill  to 
his  satisfaction.  The  second  season  also  profited  by  the  acquisi 
tion  of  two  professional  actors  who  had  become  stranded  in  St. 
Louis,  Carl  Stein,  a  character  actor  of  repute,  and  his  talented 
wife,  who  later  became  directress  of  the  German  Theatre  in  San 
Francisco.10 


10  Those  recorded  as  taking  part  in  the  performances  of  the  Philodra- 
matische  Gescllschaft  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  above  were:  Messrs. 
Albert,  Aschenbach,  Assmann,  A.  S.  Bornstein,  Btichel,  Gayer,  Gensis,  Ferdi 
nand  Klunder,  Christian  Tvribben,  Lconhard,  Lischer,  Miiller,  Nebel,  Preyt- 
ner,  Schmidt,  Hermann  Schroder,  Stierlin,  Thomas,  Warnecke,  Wild ;  Mmes. 
Charton,  Frimmel,  Koser,  Kroger,  Miiller,  Novaak,  Schiller,  Schlesiger, 
Schroder;  child  parts — Carl  Bornstein,  Kl.  Fuchs,  Georg  Hoffmann,  Kl. 
Meckel. 


1 8  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

The  efforts  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  met  with 
an  enthusiastic  and  appreciative  response  on  the  part  of  the  Ger 
man  public  from  the  start.  On  the  opening  evening  of  the  first 
season  two  plays  from  the  pen  of  Bornstein  were  presented  in  the 
Varieties-Theatre,  located  on  Market  Street  between  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Streets,  one  of  the  largest  theatres  in  the  city,  before  an 
audience  which  crowded  the  house.  The  first  of  these  plays,  a 
five-act  Lustspicl,  Betrogene  Betriigcr,  was  later  performed  with 
distinct  success  more  than  twenty  times  in  Vienna  and  became 
a  favorite  in  the  repertory  of  many  stages  in  Germany;  the  sec 
ond,  a  "Lebensbild  aus  dem  Deutsch-Amerikanertum"  entitled 
Deutsche  Eimvanderung  und  deutsche  Gesellschaft,  became  part 
of  the  repertory  of  practically  every  German  dilettante  stage  in 
the  United  States  at  that  time.  This  initial  success  augured  well 
for  the  future  of  the  organization.  It  played  weekly  for  four 
winter  seasons  with  growing  artistic  success.  Houses  were  re 
ported  good,  even  in  bad  weather.  During  the  winter  of  1854- 
1855  the  organization  suffered  competition  at  the  hands  of  a  com 
pany  managed  by  Benrodt,  which  the  latter  recruited  largely  from 
the  ranks  of  a  company  to  which  he  had  belonged,  which  had 
been  brought  to  St.  Louis  from  Louisville  in  the  summer  of  1854 
by  Julius  Botzow  for  a  series  of  performances  beginning  July  3. 
The  keen  rivalry  that  existed  made  the  Philodramatische  Gesell 
schaft  more  determined  to  put  forth  their  efforts.  In  consequence 
a  professional  stage  attempting  to  play  three  times  per  week, 
entailing  the  expenses  of  salaried  players,  after  a  short-lived 
season  beginning  November  20,  had  to  succumb  by  the  middle 
of  February  to  the  superior  performances  of  their  competitors, 
whose  popularity  made  it  possible  for  them  to  utilize  the  larger 
Bates  Theatre  after  Benrodt  had  got  possession  of  the  Varieties. 
It  spelled  failure  for  Benrodt  to  attempt  to  stage  plays  beyond 
the  possibilities  of  his  limited  ensemble.  What  he  lacked  in  qual 
ity  he  attempted  to  make  up  by  use  of  the  sensational.  Flis  adver 
tisements  for  Goethe's  Faust,  for  example,  contained  the  com 
ment,  "Zum  Schlusse  des  Stiickes  Fausts  Hollenfahrt!  Erster 
Tableau  mit  Brillant  Feuerwerk!"  The  Anzeigcr  dcs  Wcstcns, 
Bornstein's  paper,  echoes  the  rivalry  between  the  two  stages.  In 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  19 

a  review  of  a  performance  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft 
that  is  typical  it  says : 

"Es  ist  interessant  und  fiir  die  Darsteller  anregend,  vor 
einem  solchen  gebildeten,  empfanglichen  und  kunstsinnigen 
Publikum  zu  spielen,  und  die  stets  gedrangt  vollen  Hauser 
bei  der  Auffuhrung  einfacher  Lust  und  Schauspiele  stehen 
im  erfreulichen  Contrast  zu  jenem  Treiben,  wo  mit  ellen- 
langen  Zetteln  und  Trommlern  und  Trompeten  und  Geigern 
und  Pfeifern  auf  den  Ankiindigungen,  Gothes  und  Schillers 
Meisterwerke  zusammengestrichen,  verstiimmelt  und  ver- 
hunzt  von  anderthalb  Schauspielern  und  einem  Dutzend 
Statisten  vor  leeren  Banken  herabgeleiert  werden.  Der 
Kuntsinn  des  hiesigen  deutschen  Publikums  hat  sich  abermals 
glanzend  bewahrt,  es  hat  bewiesen,  dass  es  sich  keinen  Sand 
in  die  Augen  streuen  und  sich  nicht  durch  grosse  Annoncen 
und  atemlose  Puffs  verblitffen  lasst,  sondern  richtiger  Weise 
eine  gerundete,  naturgetreue  und  von  einem  lebendigen 
Geiste  durchwehte  Darstellung  eines  guten  Lust  —  oder 
Schauspieles  einer  Tlollenfahrt  mit  Brillant-Feuerwerk'  oder 
irgend  einen  'grossen  Banditen'  vorzieht.  Wir  kennen  unser 
deutsches  Publikum  hier  und  sind  stolz  darauf  und  eben 
darum  auch  nur  laden  wir  uns  alle  die  Miihen  und  Plagen, 
die  Opfer  und  Anstrengungen  auf,  die  die  Organisation 
und  Aufrechthaltung  einer  Dilettanten-Buhne  unabweisslich 
mit  sich  bringt."  n 

The  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  during  the  first  three 
seasons  of  its  activity  donated  the  net  proceeds  of  its  perform 
ances  to  charitable  purposes.  Its  announcement  states :  "Das 
Privat-Interesse  hat  mit  diesen  Vorstellungen  gar  nichts  zu  thun, 
— im  Gegenteile  mussen  alle  Darsteller,  mit  Vernachlassigung 
ihrer  eigenen  Geschafte,  Opfer  an  Zeit,  Miihe  und  selbst  Geld 
bringen; — aber  sie  thun  es  gern,  weil  es  dem  doppelten  Zwecke 
gilt ;  den  Geschmack  und  Sinn  fiir  deutsche  Kunst  hier  zu  heben 
und  gute  und  nutzliche  Anstalten  befordern  zu  konnen."  12  The 
Deutsche  Einwanderungsgesellschaft,  the  Deutsche  Frauen- 
verein — organizations  designed  chiefly  to  aid  newly  arrived  immi 
grants — the  Freie  Gemeinde  in  New  Bremen,  the  German  Orphan 


11  Anzeiger  des  Westens,  February  22,  1855. 
13  Anzeiger  des  Westens,  January  15,  1854. 


2O  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

Home  and  similar  institutions  were  the  chief  beneficiaries.  With 
the  fourth  season  the  plans  of  the  organization  and  consequently 
the  financial  obligations  of  the  members  became  more  preten 
tious.  It  therefore  avowedly  became  a  professional  organization, 
announcing  that  henceforth  the  proceeds  of  the  performances 
would  be  divided  among  the  performers  on  a  pro  rata  basis 
according  to  degree  of  service  rendered.  For  the  organization 
was  at  no  time  to  become  a  private  enterprise,  but  to  be  conducted 
on  a  republican  basis. 

With  the  termination  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft 
the  Liebhabertheater  may  be  said  to  have  played  their  role  in  the 
history  of  the  German  stage  in  St.  Louis.  During  the  winter  of 
1857-1858  the  St.  Louis  Turn  Verein  gave  regular  Sunday  per 
formances.  During  subsequent  seasons  the  newspapers  continue 
to  announce  performances  by  one  or  the  other  Turn  Verein  or 
other  organization.  But  such  performances  in  time  became  more 
and  more  occasional.  They  did  not  always  please  the  directors  of 
the  regular  professional  German  stage,  for  they  kept  away  from 
the  regular  theatre  many  who  would  otherwise  have  attended. 
As  late  as  1909  one  of  the  directors  of  the  professional  stage  took 
occasion  in  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  German  stage  in  St. 
Louis,  submitted  to  the  Mississippi  Blatter  (March  14,  1909)  to 
lodge  such  a  complaint,  saying,  "An  Liebhabertheatern  war  nam- 
lich  auch  in  den  scchziger  Jahren  ebensowenig  ein  Mangel,  wie 
in  dem  jiingsten  Jahrzehnt,  in  welchem  sie  als  Anhangsel  von 
Gesang-  und  Turnvereinen  den  jeweiligen  Theater-Unternehmern 
bald  grosseren,  bald  geringeren  pekuniaren  Schaden  zugefitgt 
haben." 

The  first  attempt  to  establish  a  German  theatre  after  the 
cessation  of  activities  by  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  was 
made  by  Ed.  Herrmann.  October  28,  1856,  he  instituted  a  Ger 
man  stage  in  the  Varieties  Theatre.  Herrman  mysteriously  dis 
appeared  after  the  second  performance,  whereupon  Robert  A. 
Wolff  reopened  the  theatre  November  30.  His  company  included 
six  former  members  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft— 
Assmann,  Kliinder,  Schmidt,  Stierlin,  Mine.  Koser  und  Mine. 
Novack.  Other  members  of  the  company  were  Dardenne  (a 


German  fir ama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 


21 


comedian,  formerly  director  of  the  Stadttheater  in  Augsburg), 
Diiringer  and  Fredeking  (from  the  Volkstheater  in  Chicago), 
Bernhard  Meissner,  Steinberg  (from  New  Orleans),  Mmes, 
Marie  Dardenne,  Meissner  and  Maria  Wolff.  Wolff  played 
with  varying  fortune  till  March  8,  when  he  gave  up  the  director 
ship.  The  company  then  played  under  direction  of  a  committee 
appointed  from  its  members  until  April  13.  During  the  latter 
period  Carl  Stein  and  Lola  Montez  played  with  the  company  in 
starring  parts,  the  former  as  Shylock  in  a  performance  of  The 
Merchant  of  Venice,  the  latter  in  four  performances  of  Lola 
Monies  in  Bayern.  The  non-success  of  the  season  was  due  chiefly 
to  an  attempt  to  perform  three  times  weekly  in  plays  beyond  the 
capacity  of  a  limited  ensemble.  Wolff  made  efforts  to  fill  the 
gaps  in  the  ranks  of  his  company.  But  the  country  offered  no 
supply  of  available  actors  from  which  to  recruit  them. 

The  performances  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  had 
served  the  purpose  they  had  been  designed  to  attain — namely,  to 
awaken  an  interest  in  the  German  theatre.  But  thru  lack  of  a 
director  who  would  live  up  to  standards  artistically  sufficiently 
exacting  to  immediately  follow  up  the  work  of  the  Philodra 
matische  Gesellschaft,  the  Volkstheater  soon  usurped  the  field. 
The  interest  in  German  theatricals  which  had  been  aroused  was 
soon  capitalized  by  the  proprietors  of  summer  gardens  and  beer 
halls.  The  first  of  these  Volkstheater  to  follow  in  the  wake  of 
the  activities  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  was  opened 
in  Ruedi's  Volksgarten,  on  Second  Street  between  Mulberry  and 
Lombard  Streets,  on  Sunday,  August  2,  1857.  During  the  winter 
of  1857-1858  Ferdinand  Kliinder  attempted  to  rehabilitate  the 
German  stage  in  the  Varieties  Theatre.  Kliinder's  company  con 
tained  good  material.  In  its  ranks  were  included  Robert  Gilbert 
(villain  and  character  roles,  from  the  Stadttheater  in  Philadel 
phia),  Anton  Follger,  Botzow,  Louis  Pelosi,  Carl  Worrett  (stage 
director,  from  Chicago),  Assman  and  Stierlin  (formerly  of  the 
Philodramatische  Gesellschaft)  and  Mmes.  Botzow,  Meissner 
and  Maria  Pelosi.  During  the  first  part  of  the  season  Kronfeld, 
from  the  Hoftheater  in  Darmstadt,  and  during  February  Schunck 
and  his  wife,  of  the  Deutsches  Theater  in  Cincinnati,  performed 


22  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Lrt'*  Stage 

with  the  company  in  starring  parts.  Mme.  Bdrnstein  appeared 
with  the  company  from  time  to  time.  She  played  without  com 
pensation,  solely  in  the  interest  of  art.  But  Kliinder's  venture, 
due  to  various  causes,  was  not  a  success.  Occasionally  the  per 
formances,  especially  those  given  with  the  aid  of  the  visiting 
players,  reached  a  plane  which  won  words  of  commendation 
from  the  pen  of  the  critic.  Lack  of  cooperation  on  the  part  of 
the  players,  however,  and  the  attendant  insufficient  rehearsals — 
the  critic  ofttimes  had  occasion  to  find  fault  on  the  score  of  poorly 
memorized  or  poorly  interpreted  parts — caused  the  performances 
in  many  instances  to  suffer  by  comparison  with  those  of  the  Philo- 
dramatische  Gesellschaf t,  to  which  the  newspapers  constantly  refer 
as  the  high -water  mark  in  German  theatricals  in  the  city  up  to 
that  time.  Kliinder's  stage  therefore  did  not  attract  the  patron 
age  of  those  who  could  afford  a  good  theatre.  Moreover,  the 
season  was  one  of  financial  depression  generally.  "Shinplaster" 
was  accepted  far  below  par.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  flocked 
to  the  inexpensive  Volkstheater,  where  the  price  of  admission 
was  usually  advertised  as  "10  cents,  wofiir  ein  Glass  Bier  verab- 
reicht  wird,"  or  where  admission  was  free  as  an  inducement  to 
the  public  to  come  spend  their  money  with  the  proprietor  of  the 
beer  hall  or  garden  with  which  the  stage  was  connected,  and 
where  a  dance  usually  followed  the  performance.  During  the 
summer  of  1857  and  the  ensuing  winter,  in  competition  to  Kliin 
der's  enterprise,  the  theatre  in  Ruedi's  Volksgarten  usually  played 
three  times  weekly.  The  level  of  performances  of  the  Volks 
theater  which  the  economic  situation  of  the  people  had  helped 
make  popular  soon  shaped  popular  taste  and  created  a  demand  for 
such  performances.  During  the  summer  of  1858  the  theatre  in 
Ruedi's  Volksgarten  played  daily,  and  three  other  German  stages 
—the  Deutsches  National  Theater,  established  in  Flora  Garten, 
on  South  Seventh  Street,  May  22,  by  Gilbert  and  Schunck,  the 
one  in  the  Tyroler  Halle,  at  2  Carondolet  Avenue,  and  the  St. 
Georges  Theater,  on  DeKalb  Street  between  Barton  and  Victor — 
less  frequently,  the  first  two  usually  three  times  per  week,  the  lat 
ter  on  Sundays.  During  the  winter  of  1858-1859  the  Volksthea 
ter  brought  the  number  of  German  stages  in  St.  Louis  up  to  eight. 


Germacn^rama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  23 

Of  these  one,  representing  an  attempt  by  Jules  Bonent  to  estab 
lish  a  first-class  stage  in  the  Varieties  Theatre,  with  prices  at  fifty, 
thirty-five  and  fifteen  cents,  proved  short-lived.  Of  the  Volks- 
theater  those  in  Ruedi's  Volksgarten,  in  Flora  Garten,  and  in  the 
St.  Louis  Stadt  Theater  (formerly  Bechner's  Varieties),  on  Fifth 
Street  between  Morgan  Street  and  Franklin  Avenue,  usually 
announced  daily  performances.  The  others  advertised  irregu 
larly  or  not  at  all,  but  usually  played  several  times  weekly  or 
daily.  The  theatre  in  Flora  Garten,  admission  to  which  was  usu 
ally  twenty-five  cents,  was  the  only  one  which  received  occasional 
recognition  from  the  newspapers  outside  the  advertising  columns. 
A  contributor  to  the  Anseiger  des  West  ens  for  December  24, 

1858,  appraises  it  as  ranking  first  among  the  eight  stages  playing 
at  that  time.    During  the  summer  of  1859  the  number  of  German 
theatres  in  St.  Louis  reached  fifteen.     Most  of  these  were  ephe 
meral.     Changes  in  management  and  personnel  were  frequent  in 
all.    Notice  of  them  disappears  entirely  with  the  establishment  of 
the  first  permanent  German  theatre  in  St.  Louis,  in  September, 

1859,  with  the  exception  of  a  series  of  performances  in  Flora 
Garten  from  November  21,  1860,  to  March  31,  1861,  under  the 
management  of  Emil  Hochster  and  O.  Schadt.13     The  theatres 
in  Ruedi's  Volksgarten  and  in  Flora  Garten,  and  the  one  con 
ducted  by  Alexander  Pfeiffer  in  Apollo  Garten,  on  Fourth  Street 
between  Poplar  and  Plum,  from  May  23  to  September  5,  1859, 
were  resuscitated  after  the  disturbances  attending  the  Civil  War 
had  terminated  the  permanent  German  theatre  established  in  Sep 
tember,  1859,  but  only  the  Apollo  Garten  Theater  was  destined 
to  flourish.     It  played  winter  and  summer  with  but  slight  inter 
ruption  under  frequent  change  of  management  thru  the  winter 
season  1890-1891. 

If  we  stop  to  view  in  perspective  the  development  of  the  stage 
during  this  period  of  the  beginnings,  the  performances  of  the 
Philodramatische  Gesellschaft,  from  the  standpoint  of  dramatur- 


13  The  Flora  Garten  ensemble  for  this  season  consisted  of  Messrs.  Schone. 
Mahl,  Hafner,  Beekier,  Werber,  Petersen,  Weber,  Seifert,  Eugen ;  Mmes. 
Schadt-Meaubert,  Taraskiewicz,  Miihl ;  Mile.  Weber,  and  Lina  Burgk  (child 
parts). 


24  German  Drama  on  the  St.  L^^f  Stage 

gical  excellency,  stand  out  as  the  hif  h-water  mark.  The  Prrilo- 
dramatische  Gesellschaft  wisely  limited  its  efforts  to  the  class  of 
plays  commensurate  with  the  capacity  of  its  ensemble.  Under 
the  guidance  of  Bornstein,  a  man  of  indefatigable  energy,  who  in 
business  circles  had  the  reputation  of  getting  the  maximum  of 
work  out  of  his  employees,14  the  performances  of  the  society 
gained  unstinted  praise  in  press  reports.  Most  of  the  comment 
on  the  stage  of  this  period  must  be  gleaned  from  the  columns  of 
Bornstein's  paper.  Its  relative  validity  is  in  a  measure  attested, 
however,  by  the  fact  that  subsequent  critics  ofttimes  take  the  per 
formances  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  as  the  basis  for 
comparative  judgment  in  estimating  later  performances.  Other 
stages  statistically  show  a  larger  per  cent  of  plays  of  literary 
worth  presented,  but  such  plays  were  usually  given  with  limited 
ensemble,  or  by  amateurs  who  lacked  the  guidance  of  the  experi 
enced  artist.  Press  comment  upon  the  plays  of  the  Liebhaber- 
theater  preceding  the  activity  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesell 
schaft  was  usually  favorable,  but  it  was  avowedly  so  "mit  Beriick- 
sichtigung  der  Verhaltnisse."15 


II.     1859-1861. 

THE  ST.  LOUIS  OPERNHAUS. 

When  Bornstein,  due  to  the  pressure  of  business  activities 
which  demanded  his  time  and  attention,  reliquished  his  interest 


14  Cf.  William   ITycle,  Encyclopedia   of   the  History   of  St.   Louis    (New 
York,  Louisville,  St.  Louis:    The  Southern  History  Co.,  1899),  .1,  44. 

15  A  statistical  survey  of  the  plays  produced  on  the  several  stages  during 
the  various  periods  in  the  history  of  the   German   drama   on  the    St.    Louis 
stage   will   indicate   the   relative  character  and   literary  value   of   the   several 
stages.     For  comparative  purposes  the  statistical  survey  of  the  several  stages 
for  the  period  of  the  beginnings  and  for  subsequent  periods  is  arranged  in 
tabulated  form  in  the  appendix  following  the  narrative  portion  of  this  work. 
For  the   period   of   the   beginnings    the   repertoires   of   the   various    amateur 
theatres,  including  the  Turnverein  performances,  are  included  in  the  statistical 
survey;  for  the  period  after  1859,  only  performances  on  the  several  profes 
sional  stages.     Opera  performances  are  included  where  they  form  a  part  of 
the  repertory  of  a  regular  German  stage. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  25 

in  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft,  he  announced  that  it  was 
his  intention  to  relinquish  permanently  his  professional  interest 
in  the  stage.  But  opportunity  needed  but  present  itself  to  induce 
the  actor  and  impressario  of  eighteen  years'  experience  on  the 
European  stage  to  change  his  mind.  The  Varieties  Theatre  prop 
erty  had  not  been  a  paying  investment  to  its  owners.  It  was 
accordingly  sold  at  a  bargain  to  two  public-spirited  citizens  of 
St.  Louis,  Captain  Eads  and  Mr.  Dickson,  whose  purpose  it  was 
not  to  make  money  out  of  the  new  investment,  but  to  save  the 
property  to  St.  Louis  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  had  been  built. 
They  had  the  building  renovated  and  approached  Bornstein  with 
the  proposal  to  take  over  the  management  thereof.  Bornstein 
acquiesced.  He  placed  the  editorial  columns  of  his  paper  in  the 
hands  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Charles  L.  Bernays,  an  experienced 
journalist  who  had  emigrated  to  America  with  him,  and  the  man 
agement  of  the  technical  details  of  the  paper  in  the  hands  of  his 
eldest  son.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  devote  the  major  part  of  his 
time  to  the  new  venture,  which,  tho  destined  to  be  short-lived, 
was  to  give  St.  Louis  the  best  permanent  theatre  it  had  yet  had, 
and  after  its  suspension,  was  to  have  for  some  years  to  follow. 
The  St.  Louis  Opernhaus  represents  the  first  Bluteseit  of  German 
theatricals  in  St.  Louis. 

Bornstein  announced  his  aims  and  intentions  with  reference 
to  the  new  undertaking  in  a  series  of  articles  in  the  columns  of 
his  paper.  They  are  contained  essentially  in  an  excerpt  from  the 
first  of  them : 

"Es  ist  uns  dabei  vor  Allem  darum  zu  thun,  den  richti- 
gen  Standpunkt  festzustellen,  den  eine  deutsche  Buhne  in 
St.  Louis  einnehmen  kann  und  soil  und  zugleich  das  Ver- 
haltniss  dieser  Buhne  zum  Publicum  und  umgekehrt,  naher 
zu  beleuchten.  Wir  wollen  hier  nicht  in  die  vielbesprochene 
Frage  eingehen,  ob  die  Biihne  eine  Notwendigkeit  fur  den 
Bildungsgang  und  das  gesellige  Leben  eines  Volkes  sei,  wir 
wollen  hier  nicht  den  Einfluss  derselben  auf  Pflege  und 
Entwickelung  der  nationalen  Literatur  und  Kunst  hervor- 
heben,  wir  wollen  uns  einfach  mit  der  praktischen  Frage 
beschaftigen :  Tst  ein  deutsches  Theater  in  St.  Louis  ein 


26  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

Bediirfniss  und  kann  es  daher  bestehen?'  Die  eigentliche 
Losung  dieser  Frage  kann  nur  clurch  ein  Experiment,  durch 
die  Erfahrung  gebracht  werden  und  wir  konnen  nur  von 
anderen,  namentlich  von  europaischen,  Theater- Verhalt- 
nissen,  ziemlich  unsichere  Schliisse  ziehen.  In  Deutschland 
hat  eine  Stadt,  die  12-15,000  Einwohner  zahlt,  ein  Theater, 
das  tiber  der  Mittelmassigkeit  steht  und  Stadte  von  30-50,000 
Einwohnern  haben  eine  gute,  stabile  Biihne  mit  Oper  and 
Schanspiel.  St.  Louis  hat  eine  deutsche  Bevolkerung  von 
60,000  Kopfen,  und  diese  Bevolkerung  ist  durchschnittlich 
wohlhabender  und  zugleich  lebenslustiger,  als  die  gleiche 
Bevolkerungszahl  irgend  einer  grossen  Stadt  in  Deutschland. 
In  Deutschland  haben  Stadte  wie  Hamburg,  Bremen  und 
Wien  vier  bis  fiinf  grosse  Theater,  die  Sommertheater  in 
den  Umgebungen  gar  nicht  gerechnet.  Nun  unser  St.  Louis 
hat  in  diesem  Sommer  an  fiinfzehn  Sommertheater  des  ver- 
schiedensten  Calibers  gehabt  und  wenn  die  Unternehmer, 
ihrer  grossen  Unkosten  halber,  auch  keine  Schatze  sammel- 
ten,  so  zeigte  sich  doch  von  Seite  des  Publicums  ein  lebhafter 
Besuch  und  eine  grosse  Theaterlust.  Alles  ware  sehr 
ermuthigend,  wenn — die  Erfahrung  vergangener  Jahre  nicht 
ware.  Ausser  der  philodramatischen  Gesellschaft,  die  stets 
voile  Hauser  hatte,  die  aber  auch  nur  10  bis  20  Vorstel- 
lungen  in  einem  ganzen  Winter  gab,  haben  alle  folgenden 
regularen  Theater-Directionen  theils  hochst  mittelmassige, 
theils  absolut  schlechte  Geschafte  gemacht.  .  .  . 

"Bei  einer  Bevolkerung  von  60,000  Menschen  sollte 
man  doch,  selbst  bei  ganz  bescheidener  Stiitzung,  fiinf  Pro- 
cent  als  Theater- Publicum  anschlagen  konnen ;  das  gabe  von 
60,000  Deutschen  drei  tausend  Theaterbesucher.  Nun  denn, 
wenn  von  diesen  drei  tausand  jeder  Einzelne  nur  einmal  in 
der  Woche  das  Theater  besucht,  so  kann  eine  gute  deutsche 
Biihne  hier  bestehen;  wenigstens  ist  ihr  dann  ein  Stamm- 
publicum  gesichert  und  die  Fremden  und  Durchreisenden 
und  jene  unregelaren  Theaterbesucher,  die  nur  bei  beson- 
deren  Gelegenheiten  ins  Theater  gehn,  miissen  dann  den 
etwaigen  Ausfall  decken.  Unsere  Leser  werden  gestehen, 
dass  wir  sehr  bescheidene  Anforderungen  an  die  Unter- 
stiitzung  des  Theater-Publicums  machen  und  dass  man 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  27 

glauben  sollte,  diese  Wiinsche  und  ihre  Erfiillung  lagen  im 
Bereiche  der  Moglichkeit  und  wiirden  sich  wohl  verwirk- 
lichen.  Wir  wiinschen  und  hoffen  es,  denn  sonst  hatten  wir 
die  Aufgabe  nicht  unternommen,  mit  deren  Losung  wir  uns 
jetzt  beschaftigen,  wir  haben  von  Anfang  an  das  feste  Ver- 
trausen  gehabt,  dass  die  deutsche  Bevolkerung  von  St.  Louis 
ihr  eigenes  deutsches  Theater  haben  und  erhalten  konne,  und 
in  diesem  Vertrauen  haben  wir  gehandelt. 

"An  abrathenden  und  warnenden  Stimmen  hat  es  nicht 
gefehlt;  Manner,  die  wir  zu  unseren  wahren  Freunden 
zahlen,  widerrieten  uns  ein  deutsches  Theaterunternehmeii 
zu  beginnen,  sie  stellten  uns  vor,  wie  wir  unbedingt  viel 
bessere  Geschafte  machen  miissten,  wenn  wir  uns  nicht  bloss 
auf  einen  Theil  des  Publicums  beschrankten,  sondern,  wie 
die  amerikanischen  Theater,  auf  das  ganze  Publicmn,  Ameri- 
kaner  und  Deutsche,  Irlander  und  Englander,  speculirten. 
Wir  gestanden  ihnen  zu,  dass  sie  Recht  hatten,  und  dass  wir 
als  Geschaftsmann  unzweifelhaft  sicherer  und  vorteilhafter 
speculiren  wiirden,  wenn  wir  heute  eine  italienische  Oper 
und  morgen  ein  englisches  Schauspiel,  diesen  Monat  die 
Ravels  und  im  nachsten  die  Martinettis  vorfuhrten,  aber  wir 
bemerkten  zugleich,  dass  der  Gedanke  ...  in  St.  Louis 
eine  stabile,  gute,  deutsche  Biihne  zu  begriinden,  uns  viel 
verlockender  sei,  dass  wir  diesem  Gedanken  und  diesem 
Wunsche  schon  f  riiher  vier  Jahre  angestrengter  Bemuhungen 
mit  der  philodramatischen  Gesellschaft  geopfert  hatten  und 
dass  wir  nun,  wo  Mittel  und  Unterstiitzung,  wo  die  Zahl  der 
darstellenden  Krafte  und  die  Theaterlust  des  Publicums 
gestiegen  seien,  ernst  entschlossen  waren,  wenigstens  einen 
ernsten  Versuch  zur  Durchfuhrung  dieser  unserer  Lieblings- 
idee  zu  machen  und  weder  Miihen,  noch  Opfer  zu  scheuen, 
um  sie  zu  realisiren. 

"Das  Publicum  kennt  somit  unsern  Standpunkt  als  The- 
aterunternehmer,  es  ist  nicht  Speculationstrieb,  nicht  Gewinn- 
sucht,  die  uns  leiten,  denn  der  Gewinn  eines  Theaterunter- 
nehmers  hier  ist  noch  immer  ein  sehr  problematischer  gewe- 
sen  und  obenein  'haben  wir  zu  leben/  wie  man  im  gewohn- 
lichen  Leben  zu  sagen  pflegt,  und  diese  Zeitung  giebt  uns  so 
sichere  und  so  reichliche  Ertragnisse,  dass  wir  uns  wohl 


28  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

damit  bescheiden  konnen.  Wir  wollen  also  bei  dem  Theater- 
annehmen  nicht  reich  werden,  wir  sind  sogar,  in  den  ersten 
Jahren  wenigstens,  auf  Opfer  gefasst,  und  wenn  wir  uns 
diese  Opfer  und  mehr  noch  die  ungeheure  Miihe  und  Arbeit, 
die  eine  Theater-Direction  mit  sich  bringt,  aufladen,  so 
geschiedt  es,  um  in  dem  deutschen  St.  Louis  ein  deutsches 
Theater  herzustellen  und  fest  zu  begriinden,  das  der  Zahl, 
der  Stellung,  der  Bildung  und  dem  Einflusse  unserer 
deutschen  Bevolkerung  entspricht."  1G 

It  goes  without  saying  that  in  a  period  of  heated  political 
controversy  a  man  of  the  prominence  of  Bornstein,  to  whom 
political  plotting  was  second  nature,  who  in  the  columns  of  his 
paper  had  undertaken  to  rule  the  rising  emancipation  movement, 
should  at  the  instigation  of  political  animosity  in  unfriendly 
quarters  have  the  sincerity  of  his  motives  questioned.  But  his 
contention  that  his  was  not  a  money-making  scheme,  but  a  pur 
suit  in  the  interest  of  art  and  culture  at  least,  the  sequel  of  events 
does  not  disprove. 

Bornstein  leased  the  former  Varieties  Theatre,  which  he  now 
called  the  St.  Louis  Opernhaus,  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  He 
at  once  had  an  extensive  theatrical  library  containing  the  best 
classics  and  contemporary  plays  forwarded  to  him  from  Vienna 
and  Leipzig.  He  had  a  goodly  supply  of  necessary  stage  scenery 
painted  by  a  capable  Austrian  stage  painter,  Ferdinand  Kurz. 
From  a  stranded  Italian  opera  company  he  acquired  a  copiously 
stocked  wardrobe  more  pretentious  than  that  of  most  of  the 
smaller  court  theatres  in  Germany.  His  ensemble  was  recruited 
from  the  best  talent  available  in  the  country  in  so  far  as  it  was 
not  permanently  engaged  in  New  York.  In  addition  to  Bornstein 
himself  and  his  talented  wife,  the  ensemble  included  such  first- 
rate  talent  as  Alexander  Pfeiffer,  actor  of  heroic  and  character 
parts;  Karoline  Lindemann,  character  and  mother  parts,  and 
Julius  Ascher,  comedian  and  character  actor.17  The  first  two, 


"Anseiger  dcs  Westens,  August  28,  1858. 

17  The  other  members  of  the  ensemble  were  Adolphi,  by-parts ;  Wilhelm 
Berben,  villain  and  comic  parts;  Ehnler,  by-parts,  servants;  Fortner,  leading 
comedian  (part  of  first  season)  ;  Anton  Follger,  jeune  premier;  Julius  Gross- 
mann,  leading  gentleman,  bonvivants,  comic  parts ;  Emil  Hochster,  gallants, 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  29 

who  had  appeared  in  New  York,  the  Almanack  dcr  deutschen 
Buhnen  in  Amerika  lauded  as  the  best  talent  on  the  New  York 
stage  at  the  time  of  their  appearance  there.18 

Pfeiffer  had  enjoyed  extensive  reputation  and  high  rank  as 
an  actor  in  Germany.  Expression  of  liberal  political  views  had 
led  to  a  difference  with  the  manager  of  the  theatre  at  Mannheim, 
Baden,  which  determined  him  to  emigrate  to  this  country.  Mme. 
Lindemann  (nee  Miiller)  had  received  her  tutelage  under  Char 
lotte  Birch-Pfeiffer  in  Zurich  and  had  afterward  scored  a  triumph 
in  Darmstadt.  Ascher  had  appeared  successfully  in  Berlin.  The 
members  of  the  ensemble  were  all  engaged  for  a  period  of  eighteen 
months.  It  was  Bornstein's;  plan  to  play  summer  and  winter 
without  interruption.  In  announcing  his  plans  he  wrote : 

"Ein  Theater,  zu  dem  jedes  Mai  bei  Beginn  des  Winters 
ein  Dutzend  Schauspieler  und  Schauspielerinnen  zusam- 
mengetrommelt  werden,  die  sich  nicht  kennen  and  verstehen, 
die  dann  iiber  Hals  und  Kopf  in  ein  Noth-Repertoire  hin- 
eingestiirzt  werden,  um,  wenn  sie  anfangen  sich  zusammen- 
zuspielen  und  ein  Ensemble  zu  bilden,  wieder  entlassen  zu 
werden,  sobald  der  Friihling  und  die  ersten  Schwalben 
kommen, — ein  solches  one-horse-concern  haben  wir  in 
Europa  nie  gefiihrt  und  mochten  es  auch.  hier  nicht.  Dieses 
Exploitiren  einer  Winter-Saison,  ohne  alle  Riicksicht  auf 
hohere  Kunstzwecke,  konnte  uns  nicht  befriedigen.  Konnen 
wir  hier  nicht  ein  stabiles  und  gutes  deutsches  Theater  her- 
stellen,  womit  wir  jetzt  den  Versuch  beginnen,  so  bleibt  uns 
nichts  iibrig,  als  die  deutsche  Buhne  hier,  wenn  auch  mit 
Bedauern,  ihrem  Schicksale  zu  iiberlassen  und  unser  Theater 
in  anderer  Weise,  gleich  den  iibrigen  amerikanischen  Thea- 
tern  auf  das  Moglichst-Beste  zu  ververthen."  19 


naive  parts  ;  Kinklin,  by-parts  ;  Arthur  Kampmann,  gallants  ;  Louis  Menschke, 
servants,  by-parts;  Friedrich  Ropenack,  character  and  villain  parts,  fathers; 
Schwan,  fathers  and  character  parts;  G.  W.  Stierlin,  comedian;  Wilson, 
Walter,  Schiiler,  by-parts;  Mile.  Bornstein,  jeune  premiere,  by-parts;  Mme. 
Alwine  Dremmel,  jeune  premiere,  by-parts;  Mile.  Halenz,  jeune  premiere, 
by-parts;  Mme.  Rohardine  Otto,  leading  lady;  Mme.  Louise  Riedel,  comic 
old  women;  Mme.  Pfeiffer,  mothers  and  comic  old  women.  The  complete 
personnel  of  the  theatre,  including  property  master  and  assistants,  numbered 
about  forty. 

18Heinrich  Schmidt,  Almanack  der  deutschen  Buhnen  in  Amerika  (New 
York:  G.  B.  Teubner,  1860),  I,  14  ff. 

18  Anzeiger  des  Westens,  September  4,  1859. 


30  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

The  St.  Louis  Opernhaus  was  formally  opened  September 
15,  1859.  In  order  to  afford  time  for  the  new  theatrical  com 
pany  to  assemble  and  hold  necessary  rehearsals  the  German  the 
atrical  season  proper  was  prefaced  by  a  series  of  twenty  opera 
performances  by  Signora  Parodi's  Italian  Opera  Company.  The 
company,  which  included  as  principals  the  prima  donnas  Teresa 
Parodi  and  Karline  Alaino,  the  tenor  Giovanni  Sbiglia,  the  bari 
tone  F.  Gnone  and  the  basso  N.  Barili,  was  pronounced  by  critics 
to  have  been  superior  to  that  of  Strakosch  and  others  which  had 
previously  visited  St.  Louis.  It  presented  La  Traviata  four  times, 
Polinto  three  times,  //  Trovatore,  Lucia  di  Lammermoore,  Nor  ma, 
Ernani  and  Lucrecia  Borgia  each  twice,  and  La  Favorita,  Rigo- 
lette  and  //  Babiere  di  Siviglia  each  once.20 

The  theatrical  season  opened  October  i  with  a  performance 
of  Goethe's  Egmont.  Performances  were  given  daily.  The  sea 
son  promised  well.  The  repertory  presented  showed  that  the 
director  was  working  toward  the  artistic  and  cultural  goal  he  had 
set  before  him.  The  hundredth  anniversary  of  Schiller's  birth 
was  commemorated  in  the  Opernhaus  by  a  series  of  Schiller's 
plays.  His  Ranker,  Kabalc  und  Liebe,  Fiesco,  Maria  Stuart, 
Wallensteins  Tod  and  Wilhelm  Tell  were  presented  on  November 
6,  7,  8,  9,  10  and  n  respectively.  The  series  was  prefaced 
November  5  by  a  performance  of  Laube's  Karlsschiilcr.  Except 
ing  a  Sunday  performance  of  Hersch's  Anna  Lisa,  three  classic 


20  Signora  Parodi's  Company  returned  to  the  St.  Louis  Opernhaus  Decem 
ber  27  for  a  series  of  performances,  at  which  the  following  operas  were 
given :  Norma,  La  Traviata,  and  Don  Giovanni,  each  twice ;  //  Trovatore, 
Lucia  di  Lammermoore,  Lucrecia  Borgia  and  Polinto,  once.  Later  in  the 
season  the  French  opera  company  from  New  Orleans  with  Mme.  Dalmont- 
Messmacre  as  prima  donna,  Demoiselle  D'Arcy  as  soubrette,  M.  Philippe  as 
tenor,  gave  a  number  of  performances  which  alternated  with  the  German 
theatrical  performances.  In  April,  1861,  Madame  Colson's  Italian  Opera 
Company  gave  a  series  of  performances  in  the  Opernhaus.  The  company 
included  the  prima  donnas  Pauline  Colson  and  Miss  Kellog,  the  tenor  Brig- 
noli,  the  baritone  Ferri  and  the  basso  Susini.  Later  the  pantomime  and  ballet 
company  Siegrist — Zamfretta  with  a  large  corps  de  ballet  and  excellent  dan- 
seuses,  and  finally  Anna  Bishop  with  her  concert  company,  appeared  on  the 
stage  of  the  Opernhaus  to  lend  the  season  variety. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  31 

plays — Faust,  Jungfrau  von  Orleans  and  Morcto's  Donna  Dianna 
(German  by  West) — attracted  the  largest  audiences  during  the 
initial  months  of  the  season.  These  plays  formed  part  of  a  series 
of  eighteen  performances  in  which  Antonie  Grahn,  formerly  of 
the  Hoftheater  in  Darmstadt,  later  of  the  Stadt  Theater  in  New 
York,  appeared  in  starring  parts,  such  as  Gretchen,  Ophelia,  Julia, 
Johanna,  Maria  Stuart  and  Donna  Dianna.  She  received  un 
stinted  praise  for  her  work,  in  which  she  received  first-rate  sup 
port  from  Pfeiffer  in  roles  such  as  Faust  and  Hamlet,  Mme. 
Lindemann  as  Martha,  Follger  as  Romeo,  and  Bornstein  as  Perin 
in  Donna  Dianna.  Beginning  with  February  the  company  had 
the  support  of  Heinrich  Kronfeld,  of  the  Hoftheater  in  Darm 
stadt,  in  a  number  of  performances.  He  excelled  in  comedy.  He 
proved  to  be  a  drawing  attraction,  as  Mme.  Grahn  had  been. 

But  the  unhappy  political  and  attending  economic  conditions 
of  the  time  militated  against  the  realization  of  Bernstein's  plans. 
As  the  performances  grew  in  dramaturgical  excellence  and  gained 
in  the  estimation  of  the  critics,  the  attendance  decreased.  Con 
strained  by  the  necessity  of  attracting  a  full  house,  Bornstein  was 
forced  to  strive  after  that  which  was  designed  for  effect.  In 
March  and  April,  1860,  he  staged  fourteen  performances  of  Der 
Zauberschlcier,  romantisch-komisches  Feenspiel  mit  Gesang  und 
Tans,  an  adaptation  from  Scribe  by  F.  X.  Told.  In  September 
and  October  of  the  same  year  he  staged  twenty- four  perform 
ances  of  Raimund's  Barometermacher  auf  der  Zaubcrinscl,  and 
in  November  nine  performances  of  a  local  Seller zspicl  by  Told 
called  Liebeleien  in  Cincinnati,  Neckercien  in  St.  Louis  und  Fop- 
pereien  in  Carondelet.  But  such  performances  were  not  staged  at 
the  sacrifice  of  quality.  With  reference  to  the  performances  of 
the  Zauberschleier,  a  contributor  to  the  Anzeiger  wrote:  "Hat 
sich  unser  Opernhaus-Theater  in  Bezug  auf  Darstellung  bis  jetzt 
schon  den  ersten  Platz  in  Amerika  erobert,  so  tritt  es  mit  den 
letzten  Auffiihrungen  des  Zauberschleiers  auch  in  jeder  anderen 
Beziehung  in  die  Reihe  der  grossen  Theater  ein,  und  St.  Louis 
darf  stolz  auf  ein  Institut  sein,  das  auf  die  Beurtheilung  des 


32  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

hiesigen  deutschen  Elements  auf  das  Vortheilhafteste  zuriick- 
wirken  muss."  21 

And  commenting  upon  the  Liebeleien  performances,  a  critic 
wrote:  "Wir  diirfen  es  dreist  aussprechen,  dass  die  Direktion 
mit  der  Nothwendigkeit,  eine  Reihe  voller  Hauser  zu  schaffen, 
aufs  Neue  in  einer  Weise  entledigt,  die  wieder  einmal  den  von 
uns  schon  ausgesprochenen  Satz  bestatigt,  dass  die  St.  Louiser 
deutsche  Biihne  die  erste  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  ist." 

Because  of  poor  attendance  Bornstein  concluded  to  close  the 
Opernhaus  temporarily  January  20,  1861,  and  in  the  interim  to 
take  his  company  to  Cincinnati,  where  conditions  were  not  yet 
affected  by  the  impending  political  crisis.  The  company  played 
with  success  in  Pike's  Opera  House  in  Cincinnati,  where  it  had 
the  hearty  support  of  the  German  press,  and  then,  ere  returning 
to  St.  Louis,  played  with  appreciative  reception  for  several  even 
ings  in  Louisville.23  The  company  resumed  daily  performances 
in  the  St.  Louis  Opernhaus  March  31. 

Sundays  had  brought  the  German  theatre  its  largest  audi 
ences.  When  the  Know-nothing  party,  the  political  enemy  of  the 
''free-soil"  Germans,  came  into  power,  they  at  once  unearthed 
and  arbitrarily  enforced  an  antiquated  law  which  prohibited  the 
theatre  to  open  on  Sundays.  On  the  8th  of  April  the  new  police 
commissioners  were  installed.  On  Sunday,  April  14,  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  Bornstein  was  notified  not  to  open  his  theatre. 
He  declined  to  heed  the  police  order.  Fifteen  minutes  later  the 
new  chief  of  police  with  forty  policemen  came  and  took  posses 
sion  of  the  building.  Threatened  violence  upon  the  police  by  the 
assembled  Germans  was  forestalled  by  a  speech  from  Bornstein, 
who  advised  them  to  quietly  go  home.  Inability  to  give  the  cus 
tomary  "Sacred  Concerts,"  as  the  Sunday  performances  had  in 
the  past  been  termed,  dictated  that  a  German  theatre  could  not 


31  Anzeiger  dcs  West  ens,  March  20,  1860. 
M  Anzcigcr  des  West  ens,  November  n,  1860. 

1  "Herrn  Bornstein  gebiihrt  allerdings  fur  die  von  ihm  organisirte 
Schauspielertruppe,  die  er  Anfangs  der  6oger  Jahre  ebenfalls  nach  Cincinnati 
brachte,  und  zu  deren  eifrigsten  Unterstiitzern  auch  wir  gehorten,  grosse  An- 
erkenming.  Wir  gestehen  es  ein,  es  war  das  das  beste  deutsche  Theater  was 
Cincinnati  je  gehabt  hat." — Der  deutsche  Pionier  (Cincinnati,  1882),  XIV,  20, 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  33 

meet  with  financial  success.  For  the  German  element  of  the  city 
lived  for  the  most  part  in  the  extreme  northern  and  southern 
parts  of  the  city  and  therefore  had  no  time  to  attend  perform 
ances  after  business  hours  on  week  days.  Bornstein  consequently 
closed  his  theatre  permanently  April  20. 

Had  the  police  interference  not  put  an  abrupt  end  to  St. 
Louis  Opernhaus,  the  political  crisis,  which  within  the  next  fort 
night  became  acute,  would  have  done  so.  After  the  closing  of 
the  theatre  Bornstein  used  all  his  energies  and  did  much  to  con 
solidate  the  German  sentiment  of  St.  Louis  in  favor  of  the  Union. 
He  was  prominent  in  organizing  the  German  troops  for  the  de 
fense  of  the  United  States  arsenal  in  St.  Louis.  He  took  part 
under  General  Lyon  in  the  seizure  of  Camp  Jackson  May  10, 
1861.  He  was  elected  Colonel  of  the  Second  Regiment  of  Mis- 


Ill.    1861-1891. 

A.  1861-1867.    A  New  Era  Begins.     The  Directorship  of  Wil- 

helm  Koser. 

After  the  St.  Louis  Opernhaus  had  closed  its  doors  Alex 
ander  Pfeiffer  attempted  with  a  remnant  of  Bornstein's  en 
semble  to  institute  a  German  stage  in  Apollo  Garten.  At  the 
souri  Volunteers,  and  as  such  saw  active  service.24 
initial  performance,  July  9,  Bohn's  Drama,  Der  Tower  von 
London,  was  staged.  The  following  day  Benedix's  Schauspiel, 
Die  Stiefmuttcr,  and  Putlitz's  Lustspicl,  Badckurcn,  were  per 
formed,  and  July  n,  Topfer's  Lustspicl,  Frcien  nach  Vorschrift. 
This  third  performance  marked  the  end  of  the  experiment.  At 
a  time  when  the  columns  of  the  German  press  were  full  of  calls 


24  After  several  months  of  active  military  service,  spent  for  the  most  part 
in  Jefferson  City,  Bornstein  was  appointed  counsel  to  Bremen  by  President 
Lincoln.  He  went  abroad,  to  return  in  1864,  at  the  invitation  of  his  friend, 
Hon.  Francis  P.  Blair,  to  take  part  in  Lincoln's  second  campaign.  After  the 
election  he  returned  to  his  consular  post,  which  he  held  till  deprived  of  it 
in  1864  in  consequence  of  the  rotation  in  office  which  followed  Lincoln's 
death.  From  1869-1871  he  was  codirector  with  Carl  Bukovics,  of  the  Joseph- 
stadt  Theater  in  Vienna.  During  his  last  years  he  corresponded  for  the  Cin 
cinnati  Volksblattcr,  the  Westliche  Post  and  the  Illinois-Staats-Zeitung.  He 
died  in  Vienna,  September  10,  1890. 


34  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

for  volunteers  to  do  military  service  in  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
an  attempt  to  set  up  a  stage  could  not  prove  other  than  futile. 
A  number  of  actors  formerly  belonging  to  Bernstein's  ensemble 
were  now  engaged  in  active  military  service  under  his  com 
mand. 

A  new  era  for  German  theatricals  began  with  the  spring 
of  1862.  May  1 8  the  theatre  in  Apollo  Garten  was  formally 
reopened  under  the  directorship  of  Alexander  Pfeiffer,  June  I 
the  one  in  Reudi's  Volksgarten  under  the  directorship  of  R. 
Rosinski  and  A.  Follger.  Both  theatres  usually  played  three 
times  weekly,  tho  the  latter  advertised  irregularly.  During  June 
and  July  occasional  performances  were  also  given  in  Flora 
Garten  under  the  management  of  Rosinski.  In  these  Mme. 
Louise  Thielemann,  who  had  been  active  on  the  St.  Louis  stage 
in  the  early  part  of  its  history,  took  part.  The  personnel  of  the 
performances  during  the  season  was  a  varying  one.  In  the  en 
semble  of  the  theatre  in  Apollo  Garten  appear  the  names  of 
Theodor  Boll,  Julius  Grossmann,  Konemann,  Lange  (of  Cincin 
nati),  Mme.  Caroline  Lindmann,  Mme.  Ludovika  and  Mile.  Mai- 
wine  Pfeiffer,  and  in  occasional  starring  parts,  Ascher,  G.  W. 
Stierlin,  Spitznas,  Werber  and  Follger,  and  Mmes.  Koser,  Otto 
and  Werber,  among  them  members  of  the  ensemble  in  Rudei's 
Volksgarten.  In  the  latter  ensemble  appear  the  names  of  Wil- 
helm  Bottner,  Follger,  Werber,  Mme.  and  Mile.  Bottner,  and 
Mmes.  Otto,  Pritzkow,  Ungar  and  Werber.  August  10  the 
directorship  of  the  performances  in  Ruedi's  Volksgarten  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Bottner.  In  a  number  of  performances  under 
his  short  lived  directorship,  which  terminated  August  24,  the 
combined  talent  of  the  two  stages  took  part.  Aside  from  one 
performance  each  of  Laube's  KarlsschiUcr  and  Montrosc  in 
Apollo  Garten  nothing  of  literary  value  was  staged  during  this 
season.  Kotzebue,  Friedrich,  Nestroy,  Birch-Pfeiffer,  Corner 
and  Benedix,  the  most  popular  dramatists  represented  on  the 
stage  during  the  period  antedating  the  establishment  of  the  St. 
Louis  Opernhaus,  and  popular  on  the  latter  stage,  continued  to 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  35 

be  preferred  during  the  season  with  8,  10,  3,  4,  7  and  10  perform 
ances  respectively.  Raupach  was  represented  twice.  The  rela 
tive  percentage  of  Schauspiel,  Volksstiick,  etc.,  Lustspicl  and 
Posse  presented  under  the  Pieiffer  and  the  Rosinski-Follger-Bott- 
ner  managements  were  respectively  21+,  5 — ,  47+,  27 — ,  and 
3 — ,  n — ,  26+,  and  61 —  per  cent. 

The  summer  season  in  Apollo  Garten  was  concluded  Octo 
ber  3.  October  5  Pfeiffer  staged  Kriiger's  Madchcn  vom  Dorfc 
in  the  former  St.  Louis  Opernhaus,  now  again  called  the  Varie 
ties  Theatre.  October  21  he  opened  a  winter  season  in  Concert 
Hall  with  a  performance  of  Deinhartstein's  Hans  Sachs.  De 
tails  of  Pfeiffer's  activity  during  this  season  are  meagre  in  the 
extant  records.  Reference  to  his  stage  in  later  years,  however, 
ranked  the  performances  under  his  direction  with  those  of 
Bornstein.  The  end  of  this  season  marked  the  termination  of 
his  connection  with  the  St.  Louis  stage. 

Beginning  with  this  same  winter  the  destiny  of  the  Ger 
man  stage  for  the  next  five  years  lay  chiefly  in  the  hands  of 
Wilhelm  Koser.  October  i  Koser  opened  a  theatre  on  Market 
Street,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth  Streets,  "deni  Courthouse 
gegeniiber  im  Museum,"  which  he  termed  the  Deutsches  Stadt- 
theatre.  He  conducted  a  theatre  in  this  same  building  for  four 
consecutive  winter  seasons,  but  each  season  the  theatre  under 
went  a  change  of  name.  With  the  second  season  (October  6, 
1863 — May  i,  1864),  the  name  was  changed  to  the  St.  Louis 
Stadttheater,  with  the  third  season  (October  8,  1864 — May  21, 
1865),  to  tne  National  Theater,  which,  with  the  fourth  season 
(September  6,  1865 — May  14,  1866),  was  again  changed  to  the 
Deutsches  Stadttheater,  also  called  during  this  season  the  Metro 
politan  Theater.  During  the  last  winter  under  his  directorship 
Koser  performed  on  Sundays  (September  23,  1866 — April  28, 
1867)  m  ^e  Varieties  Theatre  and  occasionally  in  the  Olympic 
Theatre,  and  on  week-days  (February  9 — April  22)  in  the 
"Walhalla"  Vaudeville  Theater  on  Fourth  Street,  between  Mar- 


36  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

ket  and  Walnut  Streets.  The  former  winter  home  of  Koser's 
theatre  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  spring  of  1866. 

During  the  intervening  summers,  with  the  exception  of  the 
summer  of  1865,  Koser  regularly  conducted  a  summer  theatre. 
During  the  summer  of  1863  he  played  first  in  Ruedi's  Volks- 
garten  and  later  (August  6 — October  3)  in  Apollo  Garten.  In 
the  latter  he  again  played  the  following  summer  (June  14 — 
October  3,  1864).  During  the  summer  of  1866  he  played  in  the 
Stadttheater  Garden  on  Elm  Street,  between  Third  and  Fourth. 
The  gap  in  Koser's  activity  as  director  presented  by  the  sum 
mer  of  1865  was  filled  by  Hannes  Lewens  who  conducted  the 
stage  in  Apollo  Garten  from  May  21  till  September  24  with 
daily  performances  principally  of  Lustspicl  and  Posse  by  an  en 
semble  recruited  largely  from  the  ranks  of  the  company  directed 
by  Koser  during  the  preceding  winter.  During  the  course  of 
the  summer  Alexander  Pfeiffer  played  under  Lewen's  director 
ship  in  four,  and  Louis  Pelosi  and  his  wife  in  eight  star  engage 
ments. 

Koser  played  daily  in  both  his  winter  and  summer  theatre, 
with  the  exception  of  the  first  two  winter  seasons,  during  which 
he  played  three  or  four  times  weekly.  The  personnel  of  his 
stage  during  these  years  changed  almost  completely  from  sea 
son  to  season.25  With  the  aid  of  talent  such  as  Otto  von  Hoym 


K  In  the  following  list  of  those  recorded  as  playing  under  Koser's  di 
rectorship  the  figures  2,  3,  4,  6  and  2-3,  3-4,  etc.,  indicate  respectively  the 
summer  seasons  1862,  1863,  etc.,  and  the  winter  seasons  1862-63,  etc.,  during 
which  the  actor  in  question  played  in  his  ensemble.  An  asterisk  indicates  that 
the  actor  appeared  during  the  season  not  as  a  regular  member  of  the  ensem 
ble,  but  in  Gastspiele. 

Ahlfeld  5-6,  Julius  Ascher  *4,  *5-6,  Rudolph  Beckier  *4,  Berman  5-6, 
Theodor  Boll  *3~4,  T.  Conny  *4~5,  Conrady  5-6,  Anton  Follger  *3,  *4,  *4-5, 
Caesar  Franck  *6,  Friedrich  Gebhard  4-5,  Anton  Graff  5-6,  6,  Heinrich  Graff 
6,  Groehner  6-7,  J.  Grossman  3,  3-4,  R.  Griinewald  4-5,  Albert  Giihlen  5-6,  6-7, 
Georg  Hagen  6,  M.  Hahn  *3-4,  E.  Harting  5-6,  Rudolph  Helmer  6,  Emil  Hoch- 
ster  4,  4-5,  Otto  von  Hoym  *6-7,  Gustav  Htibsch  6,  Richard  Jahn  3-4,  4-5,  5-6, 
Ludwig  Knorr  *4,  Julius  Koch  4-5,  6-7,  Kress  5-6,  Georg  Kriiger  3,  3-4,  Wil- 
helm  Kunst  4-5,  6,  Emil  Lasswitz  *5-6,  *6,  Hugo  Lennert  4-5,  Bruno  Lensch- 
ner  6,  Hannes  Lewens  4,  4-5,  5-6,  6,  6-7,  Adolph  Lieberati  6,  6-7,  J.  K.  Mc- 
Afferty  (Professor  in  Racine  College,  in  one  performance  of  Halm's  Sohn 
dcr  Wildnis,  February  12,  1866),  Louis  Menschke  4,  4-5.  Conrad  Miiller  6, 
Wilhelm  Mumsen  6,  Friedrich  Neidmann  4-5,  5-6,  6,  6-7,  Emil  von  der  Osten 
*6-7,  Gustav  Ostermann  *4,  Carl  Otto  3-4,  6-7,  Pelzer  3,  Alexander  Pfeiffer 
*5-6,  Karl  Rensberg  4,  G.  Rogge  5-6,  R.  Rosinsky  3,  3-4,  Erwin  Rossbach  6, 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  37 

and  Emil  von  der  Osten,  Mmes.  Bekker-Grahn  and  Mile. 
Clausen,  Koser  was,  however,  able  to  conduct  a  stage  of  literary 
as  well  as  dramaturgical  importance.  Press  comment  on  the 
performance  under  Koser's  directorship  is  occasional  and  general 
in  nature.  The  relative  merit  of  his  stage  is  attested  by  rem 
iniscent  comment  in  the  editorial  columns  of  the  press  of  the 
next  decade,  where  his  performances  and  his  audiences  are 
classed  with  those  of  Bornstein  and  Pfeiffer. 

Of  the  945  performances  recorded  as  given  under  Koser's 
direction,  the  Traucr  spiel  represented  5—  per  cent., 
Schauspiel,  19+  per  cent.,  Volksstuck,  etc.,  15+  per 
cent.,  Lustspiel,  25 —  per  cent.,  Posse,  25 —  per  cent., 
Sing  spiel,  etc.,  6 —  per  cent.,  Oper,  5—  per  cent.  The 
repertory  included  many  plays  of  literary  importance.  These 
were  (figures  indicate  number  of  times  performed)  :  Goethe's 
Faust  4;  Schiller's  Braut  von  Messina  5,  Don  Carlos  i, 
Fiesco  i,  Jungfrau  von  Orleans  5,  Kabale  und  Licbe  2,  Maria 
Stuart  3,  R'duber  9,  Wallensteins  Lager  2,  Wallensteins  Tod  i, 
Wilhelm  Tell  4;  Lessing's  Nathan  der  Weise  i;  Grillparzer's 
Medea  2;  Gutzkow's  Konigsleutnant  i,  Uriel  Acosta  6;  Hebbel's 
Gcnoveva  3 ;  Kleist's  Kdtchen  von  Heilbronn  3 ;  Laube's  Graf 
Essex  3,  Karlsschuler  5 ;  Raimund's  Alpenkbnig  3,  Bauer  ah 
Milliondr  5,  Verschwender  5 ;  Shakespeare's  Besdhmte  Wider- 
spenstige  i,  Hamlet  4,  Kaufmann  von  Venedig  3,  Othello  i. 


Otto  Rudolph  4,  5-6,  Leonhard  Scherer  *s,  5-6,  J.  H.  Schmitz  4-5,  H.  Schmitz 
3-4,  5-6,  6,  Carl  Schone  3,  C.  Schunck  *6,  Friedrich  Schurthe  3-4,  Friedrich 
Schwan  *3-4,  Alexander  Julius  Varena  4-5,  Carl  Werber  3-4,  4,  Christian 
Wolf  5-6,  Ignatz  Wolf  *3~4,  *4,  4-5,  5-6,  *6,  *6-7,  Alphons  von  Zerboni  6. 

Mmes.  Ahlfeld  5-6,  Antoine  Bekker-Grahn  *4~5,  *6,  Elise  Bottner  *4,  *4-5, 
Mile.  Johanna  Claussen  *4-5,  *5-6,  *6,  *6-7,  Mme.  Danzi-Hausmann  3-4,  Miles. 
Pauline  Dursy  5-6,  6,  Sophia  Dzinba  *6,  Ottilie  Genee  *5-6,  Maria  Graff  6, 
Mme.  Mathilda  Graff  6,  Miles.  Grempler  5-6,  Emma  Grosse  4-5,  Mme.  Anna 
Griinewald  4-5,  Miles.  Louise  Haase  *5-6,  *6-7,  Hedwig  Hesse  *5-6,  Hofsteden 
4-5,  6-7,  Kaiser  5-6,  Mme.  Albertine  Koser  2-3,  6,  Mile.  Johanna  Lehmann  5-6, 
6-7,  Mme.  Caroline  Lindemann  3,  3-4,  4,  4-5,  5-6,  Miles.  Ida  Marchand  *6, 
Ottilie  Miiller  6,  Emma  Neumann  6,  Mmes.  L.  von  der  Osten  *6-7,  Minna 
Ostermann-Bottner  *4,  Rohardine  Otto  4,  5-6,  6-7,  Hendricks-Peltzer  3,  3-4, 


Schmitz  3-4,  4-5,  5-6,  6,  Maria  von  Schramm  *3-4,  Miles.  Augusta  Sonnen- 
schein  4,  4-5,  6-7,  Anna  Wedemeyer  4,  Caroline  Werner  4,  4-5,  5-6,  6-7,  Rosa 
von  Zerboni  6. 


38  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

Richard  III  i,  Romeo  und  Juliet  i,  Winter  mar  chen  5.  Charlotte 
Birch-Pfeiffer  was  the  most  popular  dramatist  for  the  period, 
Benedix  ranked  second.  Their  plays  were  performed  64  and  35 
times,  respectively.  Kotzebue  was  represented  12  times,  Rau- 
pach  but  once.  Weihrauch's  Volksstiick,  Die  Maschinenbauer 
was  the  most  popular  individual  play;  it  was  staged  14  times.26 

In  several  instances  Koser's  stage  suffered  competition.  Be 
ginning  with  September  6,  1863,  an  attempt  was  made  to  stage 
German  drama  in  Bechtner's  Varieties  on  Fifth  Street,  between 
Morgan  Street  and  Franklin  Avenue,  called  for  this  season  the 
Deutsches  Stadttheater.  Emil  Hochster  was  stage  director.  The 
attempt  was  short  lived.  None  of  the  plays  presented  possessed 
literary  merit.  After  the  eighth  performance  on  November  15 
all  notice  of  the  theatre  disappears  from  the  columns  of  the 
press. 

From  May  20  till  November  6,  1864,  R.  Rosinski  conducted 
a  German  theatre,  at  first  in  the  Deutscher  Volksgarten  at  136 
North  Fifth  Street  and  after  cold  weather  set  in,  in  the  Deutsche 
Volkshalle  with  which  the  Garten  was  connected.  His  theatre 
was  typically  a  Volkstheater  which  essayed  nothing  more  pre 
tentious  than  an  entertaining  Lustspiel  or  Posse.  It  announced  at 
its  opening  daily  performances,  but  advertised  irregularly.  The 
limited  personnel  consisted  of  Messrs.  E.  Goldschmidt,  C.  Miller, 
R.  Rosinski,  Mme.  D.  Haase  and  Miles.  Louise  Schmuckert  and 
Marie  Freebertheyer,  whose  efforts  were  supplemented  by  occa 
sional  help  from  Koser's  ensemble. 

One  or  more  of  several  Volksgarten — the  former  Ruedi's 
Volksgarten,  Washington  Garten  at  Third  and  Elm  Streets,  and 
Franklin  Garten  at  Tenth  Street  and  Franklin  Avenue — usually 
staged  Possen  and  kindred  pieces  during  the  summers  of  1864, 
65,  66  and  67,  admission  to  which  was  free  or  ten  cents,  for 
which  usually  "2  Bier-tickets"  were  given  to  the  visitor.  But 
such  stages  rarely  advertised. 


"The  season  of  1863-64  included  a  half  dozen  performances  by  Holman's 
National  Opern-Truppe,  which  sang  Bellini's  Nachtwandlerin  and  Balse's 
Zigeunermddchen  each  twice,  and  Rossini's  Aschcnbrodel  and  Donizetti's 
Tochter  des  Regiments  each  once. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  39 

While  Koser  was  playing  in  the  Stadttheater  Garten,  Anton 
Follger  from  May  3  till  August  17,  1866,  conducted  a  theatre 
with  daily  performances  in  Apollo  Garten.  His  ensemble  was 
limited.  The  incomplete  list  of  those  recorded  as  belonging  to  it 
included  the  names  of  Follger,  Graf,  Monch,  Friedrich  Schwan, 
Mme.  Amalia  Pritzkow  and  Miles.  M.  Hoehm,  Pfeiffer  and 
Emma  Neumann.  Follger  relied  largely  for  assistance  upon 
outside  talent.  Ludwig  Knorr,  stage  director  of  the  Stadtthe 
ater  in  New  York,  Julius  Koch,  Fmil  Lasswitz,  Ropenack,  Zer- 
boni,  Mmes.  Bekker-Grahn,  Louise  Haase,  Ropenack,  Zerboni, 
and  Mile.  Johanna  Clausen  played  under  his  direction  in  the 
course  of  the  season.  The  great  number  of  stars  appearing 
on  this  stage  during  the  season  raised  the  standard  of  its  reper 
tory  above  that  of  the  average  summer  theatre.  Goethe's  Faust, 
Schiller's  Maria  Stuart,  Laube's  Graf  Essex  and  Gutzkow's 
Zopf  und  Schwerdt  were  each  performed  once,  Gutzkow's  Ko- 
nigsleutnant  twice.  The  different  types  of  play  were  repre 
sented  as  follows:  Trauerspiel  4 — %,  Schauspiel  13 — %, 
Volksstiick,  etc.,  21 — %,  Lustspiel  24 — %,  Posse  23  +  %,  Sing- 
spiel  t  etc.  (including  two  performances  of  Auber's  Stumme  von 
Portici),  16—%. 

From  January  20  till  February  22,  1867,  the  Olympic 
Theatre  was  the  scene  of  eleven  German  performances  under 
the  stage  direction  of  Hannes  Lewens.  The  short  lived  season 
was  inaugurated  by  a  number  of  actors  who  were  for  the  time 
being  without  regular  engagements,  some  of  whom  later  joined 
Koser's  ensemble. 

B.  1867-1870.    An  Uneventful  Period  of  Decline. 

During  the  summer  and  the  first  half  of  the  ensuing  winter 
season  following  the  suspension  of  Koser's  activity  on  the  St. 
Louis  stage,  Emil  Lasswitz  directed  daily  performances  in  the 
Apollo  Garten  Theater  (May  n — October  7,  1867;  November 
21,  1867 — May  20<  1868).  On  the  six  Sundays  intervening  be 
tween  the  summer  and  winter  seasons  Lasswitz  staged  plays 
with  his  ensemble  in  the  Varieties  Theatre.  The  Apollo  Garten 
Theater  had  in  the  meantime  been  rebuilt.  A  reviewer  of  the 


4O  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

opening  performance  (Goethe's  Clavigo)  takes  occasion  to  com 
ment  upon  the  improvement  wrought  by  the  renovation,  saying: 
"Wir  haben  nach  langer,  bitterer  Entbehrung  ein  wenn  auch 
nicht  iibermassig  grosses,  so  cloch  eine  hinreichende  Zahl  Zu- 
schauer  bequem  fassendes,  prachtig  eingerichtetes,  zierliches 
deutsches  Theater  nnd  konnen  uns  des  Instituts  mit  vollstem 
Rechte  freuen."27  Lasswiz  resigned  the  directorship  of  the 
theatre  at  the  end  of  January  with  the  intention  of  returning  to 
Germany,  whereupon  Kurth,  who  had  been  associated  with  him 
as  business  manager,  took  charge  and  played  daily  till  May  20. 
the  end  of  the  season.  The  season  was  made  notable  by  the 
large  number  of  "Gastspiele,"  some  of  which  proved  sufficiently 
attractive  to  warrant  performances  by  the  Apollo  ensemble  occa 
sionally  in  one  of  the  larger  theatres  of  the  city.  In  such  star 
ring  parts  appeared  C.  Harting,  Joseph  Keppler,  Theodor  L'Ar- 
ronge,  Mines.  Hedwig  L'Arronge  and  Louise  Haase,  Miles. 
Hedwig  Hesse  and  Dora  Rolff,  and  the  Hungarian  dwarfs  Jean 
Piccolo,  Jean  Petit  and  Kis  Jozsi.  The  latter  three  appeared 
almost  daily  before  crowded  houses  for  over  a  month  (March 
16 — April  19).  Some  reviewers  proclaimed  them  to  be  great 
artists.  The  review  in  the  Anzeiger  des  Wcstens  for  April  19, 
1868,  undoubtedly  comes  nearer  the  truth  when  it  says:  "Im 
"Qbrigen  sind  und  bleiben  sie  wohl  grosse  Kunstmerkwurdigkei- 
ten — das  Pradikat  'Kiinstler'  aber  in  dem  Sinne,  in  welchem  es 
die  Asthetik  den  Jiingern  der  Biihne  zuspricht,  kann  ihnen  nicht 
zuerkannt  werden." 

With  the  opening  of  the  summer  season,  May  23,  Kurth 
again  continued  to  stage  daily  performances  in  the  same  theatre. 
Alphons  von  Zerboni  acted  as  stage  manager  under  his  director 
ship.  July  13  Kurth  withdrew  from  the  theatre.  His  repertory 
had  been  designed  chiefly  with  the  view  to  entertain,  but  hard 
times  kept  down  the  attendance.  "Er  hatte  das  Seinige  redlich 
und  mit  dem  besten  Willen  gethan,  hatte  Opfer  auf  Opfer  ge- 
bracht,  aber  ohne  dass  damit  ein  Erfolg  erziehlt  wurde,  der  ihm 


27  Anzeiger  des  Westens,  November  22,  1867. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  41 

die  Weiterfiihrung  des  Theaters  hatte  wiinschenswerth  erschei- 
nen  lassen.  Die  Ausgaben  iiberstiegen  stets  die  Einnahmen 
und  Herr  Kurth,  der  mit  der  Absicht,  als  reeler  Geschaftsmann 
reel  zu  handeln,  seiner  Zeit  mit  Herrn  Lasswitz  die  Direktion 
des  Apollo  Theaters  iibernommen  hatte,  sah  sich — nach  unun- 
terbrochenen  pekuniaren  Verlusten — schliesslich  gezwungen,  sich 
von  der  Leitung  des  Unternehmens  zuriickzuziehen.  Zu  viele 
leere  Hauser  in  den  Wochentagen — Sonntags  ist  das  Theater  re-- 
gelmassig  gut  besucht  gewesen — sind  auch  in  der  jiingsten  Win 
ter — und  in  der  ersten  Halfte  der  laufenden  Sommersaison  der 
Nagel  zum  Sarge  fur  das  Unternehmen  gewesen  und  es  gehort 
in  der  That  Muth  dazu,  nach  so  vielen  Entmuthigenden  die 
Sache  in  die  Hand  zu  nehmen.  .  .  .  Der  Eintrittspreis  ist 
(namentlich  im  Sommertheater)  so  ausserordentlich  nieclrig  ge- 
stellt,  dass  man  sehr  Vielen,  die  sich  hinter  'die  schechten  Zei- 
ten'  verstecken,  nachweisen  konnte,  eine  wie  viel  grossere  Summe 
ihrerseits  allabendlich  der  Unterstiitzung  der  edlen  Kunst  des 
Bierbrauens  zugewendet  wird."- 

About  the  same  time  that  Kurth  retired  Zerboni  became  ill. 
He  died  after  several  weeks  and  his  wife  out  of  despair  over  the 
loss  of  her  husband  soon  thereafter  committed  suicide.  Follow 
ing  Kurth's  retirement  Kriiger  and  Schiller,  the  lessees  of  the 
theatre,  engaged  Hannes  Lewens  as  stage  manager  and  under 
his  guidance  brought  the  season  to  a  conclusion  October  12,  1868. 

Since  the  retirement  of  Lassowitz  the  theatre  had  artistically 
ranked  low  and  possessed  no  literary  merit.  Attendance  had 
been  poor.  Kriiger  and  Schiller  resumed  the  directorship  of  the 
theatre  with  the  opening  of  the  winter  season  October  22.  They 
engaged  Lewens  and  Julius  Koch  as  stage  managers.  The  initial 
weeks  during  this  winter  in  no  respects  offered  an  improvement. 
The  elite  no  longer  patronized  the  theatre.  January  18  Kriiger 
and  Schiller  turned  the  theatre  over  to  Louise  Haase.  She  made 
elaborate  plans  for  improvement.  She  had  the  hearty  co-opera 
tion  of  the  press.  Commenting  upon  the  change  of  management 
the  Anzeiger  for  January  17,  1869,  says:  "Die  direktionslose, 


Anzeiger  des  Westens,  July  14,  1868. 


42  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

die  schreckliche  Zeit  erreicht  heute  ihr  Ende  und  von  Morgen 
an  hat  das  Apollo  Theater  eine  artistische  Leitung,  deren  Nicht- 
vorhandensein  sich  in  jiingster  Zeit  nur  allzusehr  fiihlbar  gemacht 
hatte.  Ueber  clem  hiesigen  deutschen  Theater  waltet  seit  Jahres- 
frist  und  la'nger  ein  eigener  Unstern — und  vielleicht  geht  ihm 
in  der  neuen  Direktion  ein  gliicklicher  Stern  auf.  Ernes  ist 
sicher:  Fran  L.  Haase  ist  der  Aufgabe,  der  sich  die  Dame 
nunmehr  unterzieht,  gewachsen  und  das  waren  ihre  unmittel- 
baren  Vorgiinger  nicht. 

''Die  Herren  Kriiger  und  Schiller  batten,  kein  Gutmeinender 
wird  das  in  Abrede  stellen,  einen  in  mehr  denn  einer  Hinsicht 
ausserst  schwierigen  Standpunkt,  keiner  von  Beiden  ist  mit  dem 
Biihnenwesen  auch  nur  entfernt  vertraut  und  was  die  Folge  die- 
ser  Thatsache  war,  davon  weiss  das  Theaterpublikum  einer — die 
Kasse  der  Unternehmer  anderseits — ein  Liedchen  zu  singen. 
Doch  dariiber,  wie  iiber  so  manches  andere,  der  Vergangenheit 
Angehorende,  mag  der  Zwischenvorhang  fallen  und  in  den  Vor- 
dergrund  einzig  und  allein  die  neue  Direktion  mit  ihrer  theoreti- 
schen  wie  praktischen  Befahigungen  zttr  Leitung  des  Theaters 
treten.  Ihr  wird  das  Publikum  mit  allem  Vertrauen  auf  die  In- 
augurirung  einer  neuen  Biihnen-Era  entgegenkommen ;  ihr  wird 
zuvorderst  der  Beweis  geliefert  werden,  dass  der  Werth  des 
Geleisteten  den  Massstab  fiir  die  Theilnahme  des  Publikums  ab- 
giebt  und  dass  ein  deutsches  Theater  in  St.  Louis  bestehen  kann, 
wenn  das  Verstehen  auf  Seite  der  Biihnenleitung  nicht  mangelt. 
Schon  hort  man  von,  durch  Frau  Haase  beschlossenen  'Re  for- 
men'  und  von  der  Energie,  deren  die  Dame  ein  gut  Theil  besitzen 
soil,  lasst  sich  erwarten.  dass  neben  dem  'Reformiren'  auch  das 
Substituiren  und  Completiren  in  zweckentsprechender  Weise  ge- 
handhabt  werden  wird." 

With  the  aid  of  outside  talent  Mme.  Haase  was  able  to 
raise  the  standard  of  the  theatre.  Frau  von  Borndorf,  one  of 
the  starring  performers,  drew  full  houses  and  at  her  concluding 
performance  was  presented  with  a  silver  service  by  a  number  of 
her  admirers.  For  a  time  St.  Louis  again  enjoyed  first-class  per 
formances.  In  spite  of  increased  price  of  admission,  attendance 
increased. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  43 

This  winter  season  closed  April  16.  After  several  post- 
seasonal  performances  Mme.  Haase  formally  opened  the  sum 
mer  season  in  Apollo  Garten,  May  16.  By  the  middle  of  July 
the  public  had  again  grown  indifferent  to  her  efforts.  She  was 
constrained  to  discontinue  her  directorship  July  19.  Mme.  Au- 
guste  Hofl  reopened  the  theatre  July  27,  under  her  own  manage 
ment.  Mme.  Hofl  made  a  serious  attempt  to  bring  new  life  into 
the  stage.  She  introduced  occasional  opera  and  operette  which 
attracted  not  only  Germans,  but  also  Americans,  and  received 
favorable  recognition  from  the  English  as  well  as  German  press. 
But  the  fact  that  the  expense  entailed  by  a  stage  of  such  propor 
tions  was  out  of  proportion  to  the  proceeds  it  netted,  dissuaded 
Mme.  Hofl  from  continuing  the  experiment.  The  last  several 
weeks  of  the  season  concluding  September  26  were  devoted  to 
Lustspiel  and  Posse. 

The  following  winter  (October  3,  1869 — May  18,  1870) 
Kriiger  and  Schiller  again  assumed  charge  of  the  Apollo  Garten 
stage.  Beginning  with  January,  prior  to  which  the  company 
usually  played  without  regular  director,  Kurth  again  directed 
the  stage  for  Kriiger  and  Schiller.  He  was  succeeded  with  the 
beginning  of  the  summer  season  by  Lewens  and  Lasswitz.  The 
success  of  the  winter  season  was  made  possible  by  the  assistance 
of  artists  such  as  Otto  von  Hoym,  J.  Humbser,  Joseph  Keppler, 
and  Mmes.  Elise  von  Hoym  and  Sophie  Frida  Vellguth  (from 
the  Stadttheater  in  Milwaukee). 

The  public  during  the  years  represented  by  the  period  1867- 
70  was  apathetic  with  reference  to  the  theatre.  This  apathy  to 
gether  with  the  frequent  changes  of  directorship  caused  the 
theatre  to  suffer  in  attendance  and  from  the  standpoint  of  dra 
maturgical  attainment.  It  required  an  unusual  star  or  the  pres 
ence  of  the  unique  as  represented  in  the  three  dwarfs  to  attract 
a  full  house.  If  the  literary  merit  of  the  repertory  seemingly 
did  not  suffer,  the  fact  must  be  ascribed  to  the  frequency  of  the 
Gastspiele.  Of  the  1018  plays  performed  the  Trauer  spiel  rep 
resented  in  terms  of  percentage  3 — ,  Schauspiel  n — ,  Volksstuck, 
etc.,  14+,  Lustspiel  22-f-,  Posse  31+,  Singspiel  8-)-,  0 per  and 
Operette  n+.  The  serious  dramas  appearing  on  the  stage  dur- 


44  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Loins  Stage 

ing  these  years  were  the  following  (figures  indicate  number  of 
times  performed)  :  Goethe's  Clavigo  2,  Egmont  i,  Faust  i; 
Schiller's  Braut  von  Messina  i,  Don  Carlos  i,  Jung f ran  von  Or 
leans  i,  Kabalc  und  Liebe  i,  Maria  Stuart  2,  Z)z>  Rduber  3,  PFa/- 
lenstcins  Lager  2,  Wilhclm  Tell  2,  Turandot  2 ;  Shakespeare's 
Hamlet  5,  Macbeth  i,  Othello  3,  Romeo  und  Juliet  i,  £w  Sow- 
mermdrchen  T,  Do*  IViderspenstigen  Z'dhmung  3;  Freytag's 
Journalistcn  i ;  Gutzkow's  Kdnigslcutnant  2 ;  Hebbel's  Genoveva 
2 ;  Kleist's  Katchen  von  Hcilbronn  2 ;  Laube's  -£to'.y<?  Zungen  4, 
GVtf/  Essex  2;  Raimund's  Alpenkonig  i,  Bauer  als  Milliondr  i, 
Verschwcnder  4. 

C.    1870-1880.     Opera   on   the  Apollo  Stage   1870-1875.      The 
Pelosi  Directorship  1871-1880. 

The  summer  season  of  1870  (May  21 — October  16)  Kriiger 
and  Schiller  introduced  opera  and  operette  along  with  drama  on 
the  Apollo  stage  under  the  direction  of  Carl  Schramm  as  musical 
conductor.  During  the  course  of  the  summer  Donizetti's  Regi- 
mentstochter  was  sung  once,  Offenbach's  Verlobung  bet  der  La- 
terne,  and  Suppe's  Flotte  Bursche  and  Scheme  Galathee  each  twice, 
Offenbach's  Orpheus  in  der  Unterwelt  five  times,  his  Schone 
Helcnc  fifteen  times,  and  Der  Blaubart  eighteen  times. 

During  the  next  five  years  the  Apollo  Garten  Theater  was 
devoted  to  a  large  extent  to  opera  and  operette.  Julius  Herr 
mann,  who  during  the  summer  of  1870  had  appeared  in  starring 
parts  in  the  Apollo  Garten  Theater,  was  director  of  that  theatre 
during  the  winter  of  1870-71.  Herrmann  made  it  his  aim  to 
present  almost  exclusively  opera  and  Lustspicl.  The  perform 
ances  he  staged  were  not  perfect,  but  pleased,  as  is  apparent  from 
the  word  of  warning  contained  in  the  criticism  printed  in  the 
Anzeiger  dcs  Westens  for  October  23,  1870,  which,  after  com 
menting  on  the  excellencies  of  the  performance  in  question,  says : 
"Nichts  ist  so  verderblich  und  muss  verderblich  fiirs  Theater 
sein,  als  Berichte,  denen  auf  der  Stirn  geschrieben  steht,  dass  sie 
eben  nichts  weiter  sind,  als  geschaftsmassige  Puffs.  Wenn  ein 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  45 

Blatt  z.  B.  schreibt,  class  die  Auffiihrung  von  'Fra  Diavolo'  am 
Freitag  'die  beste  war,  die  jemals  hier  gcsehen,  und  gehort  wor- 
den  sei,'  so  mag  das,  als  Geschaftsempfehlung,  vielleicht  zu  ent- 
schuldigen  sein,  dem  Publikum  gegeniiber  ist  es  aber  nicht  zu 
rechtfertigen.  Dass  die  Chore  'tadellos'  waren,  wie  es  in  jenem 
Blatte  zu  lesen,  heisst  der  Wahrheit  so  stark  ins  Gesicht  schla- 
gen,  dass  Musikverstandige,  die  der  Auffuhrung  beiwohnten,  ein 
Recht  haben,  iiber  solches  Lobhudeln  ungehalten  zu  werden." 
Herrmann  instituted  a  number  of  "Galavorstellungen."  At  the 
first  of  these  Hugo  Miiller's  Genrebild  Adelaide  followed  by 
selections  from  grand  opera  was  given.  It  succeeded  in  creating 
interest  anew  for  the  stage  in  many  who  had  grown  apathetic 
toward  it.  "Der  ersten  der  im  Laufe  der  Saison  zu  veranstalten- 
den  Gala-Versammlungen  wohnte  kein  sehr  zahlreiches,  dagegen 
ein  um  so  gewahlteres  Publikum  bei,  so  dass  alte  'ergraute'  The- 
aterhabitues  sich  in  die  Zeiten  der  Alexander  Pfeifferschen  Di- 
rektion,  oder  in  die  Wintersaison  des  National  Theaters  unter 
Direktor  Koser  zuriickversetzt  glauben  konnten,  in  jene  Zeiten, 
da  dem  deutschen  Theater  noch  reges  Interesse  von  Seiten  der 
Elite  des  hiesigen  Deutschtumes  geschenkt  ward  und  das  Audi 
torium  die  besten  deutschen  Familien  der  Stadt  in  sich  zu  schlies- 
sen  pflegte.  Der  Anblick  des  Zuschauerraums  am  gestrigen 
Abend  Hess  das  Bedauern  iiber  die  in  gewissen  Kreisen  dem  The 
ater  gegeniiber  herrschende  Lautheit  doppelt  rege  werden,  und 
damit  zugleich  den  Wunsch  nach  Besserwerden."29 

But  the  enthusiasm  these  Galavorstellungen  aroused  was 
but  spasmodic.  Less  than  two  weeks  later,  December  31,  the 
reviewer  in  the  same  paper  complains  bitterly  over  the  poor 
attendance  at  the  really  first  class  performances :  '  'Lucretia 
Borgia'  wird  im  Apollo  Theater  besser  aufgefiihrt,  als  sie  z.  B. 
von  der  Parodi  Truppe,  spater  unter  Strakosch's  Management 
oder  von  der  Ghioni-Susini  Gesellschaft  gegeben  wurde.  Es  hat, 
danach  zu  schliessen.  also  auch  auf  diesem  Gebiete  der  alte  Satz. 
nach  welchem  'der  Prophet  in  seinem  Vaterlande  nichts  gilt'  seine 
Berechtigung.  Weil  Direktor  Herrmann  sich  hier  niedergelas- 
sen,  well  er  das  Theater  ubcrnommen  hat,  well  Fr.  Schiiler-Jiiger 
und  Frl.  Dziuba  St.  Louis  zu  ihrem  Wohnort  erkoren  haben,  well 


Anzeiger  des  Westens,  December  21,  1870. 


46  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

Beetz,  Humbler,  Graff,  etc.,  fur  die  ganze  Saison  engagirt  sind, 
weil  man  also  noch  Zeit  hat,  sic  im  Laufe  des  Winters  zu  horen, 
deshalb  lasst  man  die  Vorstellungen  einer  der  ansprechendsten, 
melodienreichsten  Opern  eines  Tonmeisters  unbesucht !  Solcher- 
gestalt  ist  die  Logik,  die  dem  iibeln  Stande  der  Dinge  zu  Grunde 
liegt.  Es  ist  freilich  eine  sehr  unlogische  Logik. — Was  aber  wird 
die  Folge  schliesslich  sein?  Dass  wir  einbiissen  werden,  was 
wir  jetzt  besitzen  und  was  keine  zwjite  Stadt  im  ganzen  Lande 
aufzuweisen  hat :  eine  permanente  deutsche  Oper.  Und  erst, 
wenn  es  zu  spat  sein,  wenn  der  Schatz  unseren  Handen  entglit- 
ten  sein  wird,  erst  dann  wird  das  Bedauern  kommen,  dann  erst 
wird  man  'die  schonen  Tage'  zuriickwiinschen,  die  Tage,  die  uns 
solche  musikalische  Freuden  gebracht  hatten."  January  26  the 
reviewer  again  speaks  in  similar  terms,  concluding:  "Es  bleibt 
beim  Alten,  beim  Schlimmen." 

The  winter  season  concluded  June  2,  1871.  During  this 
time  Herrmann  had  usually  played  daily.  Beginning  June  4  he 
commenced  a  summer  season.  But  as  early  as  June  25  he  found 
himself  constrained  to  cease  performing,  because  of  the  apathy 
of  the  public  toward  his  efforts.  Ferdinand  Ahlfeld  then  took 
charge  as  director  with  performances  several  times  weekly,  at 
times  daily,  concluding  the  season  September  29,  which  was  fol 
lowed  by  a  number  of  post-seasonal  performances  ending  October 
27.  His  repertory,  made  up  chiefly  of  Lustspiel  and  Posse,  in 
cluded  occasional  opera  performances. 

During  the  ensuing  winter  the  drama  prevailed  on  the 
Apollo  stage  under  the  directorship  of  Louis  Pelosi.  Pelosi's 
advent  marks  a  decided  rise  in  the  artistic  and  literary  niveau  of 
German  theatricals  in  St.  Louis.  The  very  successful  season 
which  he  conducted  during  this  winter  will  be  discussed  below  in 
connection  with  his  subsequent  activities  on  the  St.  Louis  stage. 

Beginning  with  June  17,  1872,  opera  again  made  its  appear 
ance  on  the  Apollo  stage,  now  called  the  Apollo  Opernhaus. 
Nathan  Waldstine,  a  local  business  man,  assumed  charge  of  the 
theatre.  He  engaged  Julius  Herrman  as  stage  director,  with  a 
company  which  included  as  principals:  E.  Beetz  and  Theodor 
Habelmann,  tenors,  Emil  Telle,  baritone,  Adolp  Frano.sch,  Julius 
Herrmann,  W.  Koerner  and  Otto  Schiiler,  bassos.  Miles.  Sophia 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  47 

Dziuba,  Anna  Jager,  Bertha  Roemer,  prirnadonnas,  and  Albertine 
Hofstetter,  second  primadonna.  Carl  Hclmar,  of  the  California 
Stadttheater  in  San  Francisco,  and  Mile.  Josie  Hofl  assisted  in  a 
number  of  performances.  Opera  and  operette  were  sung  under 
Waldstine's  management  three  times  weekly,  and  at  times  daily, 
throughout  the  summer  season,  concluding  October  25,  and  the 
winter  season  beginning  November  i.  From  an  artistic  stand 
point  the  performances,  though  not  perfect,  received  the  approval 
of  press  and  public,  including  the  English-speaking  public.  The 
principals  in  these  performances  were  usually  praised,  but  the 
ensemble  work  and  chorus  ofttimes  gave  ground  for  criticism. 
Though  attendance  was  good,  it  was  not  sufficient  to  make  the 
venture  a  financial  success,  a  fact  easily  understood  in  the  light 
of  the  present  day,  when  deficits  must  constantly  be  covered  by 
generous  lovers  of  art  or  by  subsidy.  Waldstine  therefore  re 
tired  from  the  venture,  whereupon  Theodor  Habelmann  at  once 
re-engaged  the  greater  part  of  the  ensemble,  added  to  it,  and 
without  interruption  resumed  playing.  He  formally  reopened  the 
theatre  under  his  direction  February  1 1 .  He  too  staged  exclu 
sively  opera  and  operette  till  the  termination  of  the  season 
May  30. 

Habelmann  resumed  performances  in  the  Opernhaus  June  i 
with  the  change  that  besides  opera  an  occasional  Lust  spiel  was 
staged.  By  the  end  of  the  summer  season  (September  28)  the 
German  public  had  grown  apathetic  toward  the  opera  perform 
ances,  not  without  reason,  for  the  same  operas  had  been  sung 
time  and  again.  The  opera  ensemble  therefore  left  St.  Louis  for 
Louisville,  where  it  met  with  no  better  financial  success  than  in 
St.  Louis.  By  February  i  it  there  incurred  a  deficit  of  $1200, 
which  the  Liederkranz  of  that  city  guaranteed. 

Kriiger  and  Schiller,  the  lessees  of  the  theatre,  thereupon  "der 
Noth  gehorchend,  nicht  dem  eigenen  Triebe,"  again  assumed 
charge.  They  devoted  the  stage  to  drama  with  a  company  under 
the  directorschip  of  Hannes  Lewens.  The  winter  season  and  the 
first  part  of  the  summer  season  following  (October  5,  1873 — July 
19,  1874)  rarely  offered  anything  better  than  oft  repeated  Lust- 
spiel  and  Posse,  which  failed  to  prove  attractive  to  the  public. 


48  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

The  apathy  of  the  public  naturally  in  turn  reacted  upon  the  stage. 
"Der  mittlere  Biirgerstand,  die  deutschen  Handwerker  und  Arbei- 
ter  sind  es,  die  seit  Jahren  der  hiesigen  deutschen  Biihne  ziemlich 
kiimmerliches  Dasein  fristen  helfen — und  Diejenigen,  die  da  stets 
von  schlechten  Leistungen  sprechen,  von  nicht  mitanzusehenden 
Vorstellungen,  etc.,  sind  mil,  nein  sind  vornehmlich  daran  Schuld, 
dass  es  eben  so  and  nicht  besser.  Die  Misere  vor  der  Biihne — die 
leeren  Banke — erzeugt  Misere  auf  der  Biihne.  Nur  des  Sonn- 
tags  pflegen  die  Vorstellungen  (sowohl  im  Apollo-  wie  im  Olym 
pic-Theater)  besucht  zu  sein — und  im  letzten  findet  sich  eine  An- 
zahl  deutscher  Familien  regelmassig  ein — aber  gerade  das  ist 
eben  nur  ein  Beweis  mehr  fur  die  Richtigkeit  des  oben  Gesagten. 
Die  mit  jedem  Jahre  zunehmende  Zahl  der  geselligen  Vereine  bil- 
det  gleich  falls  einen  Hemmschuh  fur  das  Prosperiren  der  The 
ater.  So  kommt  eins  zum  Andern  und  das  Facit  dieses  Rechnen- 
exempels  kann  sich  jeder  machen."30 

In  July  a  part  of  the  opera  company  returned  to  St.  Louis. 
The  majority  of  the  performances  during  the  remainder  of  the 
summer  season  beginning  July  24,  were  thereupon  devoted  to 
opera  under  the  directorship  of  Fritz  La  Fontaine.  The  reper 
tory  offered  nothing  new.  The  German  press  again  found  it 
necessary  to  upbraid  the  indifferent  public.  Later  in  the  year 
Habelmann  again  reorganized  the  opera  ensemble.  It  had  ceased 
performing  November  15.  Habelmann  resumed  performances 
in  the  Apollo  on  Christmas  Day  to  continue  without  interruption 
till  June  27.  He  introduced  at  least  two  new  operas  which  had 
not  been  heard  in  the  Apollo  before — Meyerbeer's  Afrikanerin 
and  Wagner's  Tannhauser,  the  latter  the  first  Wagnerian  opera  to 
be  produced  on  the  German  stage  in  St.  Louis ;  it  had,  however, 
previously  been  sung  by  a  visiting  company. 

Habelmann's  audiences  were  usually  reported  fair,  but 
offered  ground  for  complaint.  As  is  evident  from  the  following 
review  containing  utterances  that  are  typical  of  a  number  of  sim 
ilar  editorial  utterances,  the  theatre  itself  and  its  environs  were 
responsible  for  the  indifference  of  part  of  the  public  toward  the 


Anzeigcr  des  Wesiens,  November  30,  1873, 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  49 

performances  in  the  Apollo.  Entrance  to  the  theatre  was  ap 
parently  through  a  cafe  connected  with  the  Apollo  Garten.  "Der 
dritten  Auffiihrung  der  Afrikanerin  am  Mittwoch  Abend,  wohnte 
ein  sehr  zahlreiches  Publikum  bei,  und  in  diesem  Umstande 
erblicken  wir,  gegeniiber  der  bisher  nur  zu  deutlich  bekundeten 
Apathie  der  'hoheren  Gesellschaft'  eine  Wendung  zum  Bessern. 
Wenn  unsere  'feine  Welt'  es  iibers  Herz  bringen  konntcn,  iiber 
den  lobenswerthen  Bestrebungen  der  Direktion  und  den  Anstren- 
gungen  der  Mitwirkenden  den  vielleicht  nicht  allzu  clegantcn  Kin- 
gang  zum  Theater  zu  vergessen  und  vergeben;  wenn  die  Ilcrr- 
schaften  mehr  darauf  denken  wollten,  dass  sie  Meycrbeersche 
Musik  zu  horen  bekommen,  und  zwar  eine  seiner  grossartigsten 
Schopfungen,  und  sich  weniger  daran  stossen  wollten,  dass  der 
Dress  Circle  nicht  mit  rotem  Sammet  ausgeschlagen  ist  (was  es 
iibrigens  in  Ben  de  Bar's  und  im  Olympic  auch  nicht) — wenn  sie 
das  Opfer  brachten,  diese  Ausserlichkeiten  zu  iibersehcn,  dann 
wiirde  die  Dierektion  ihrerseits  in  den  Stand  gesetzt  werden, 
dem  Publikum  mit  der  Zeit  noch  Besseres  zu  bieten  und  nicht 
fortwahrender  Sorge  fiir  Aufrechterhaltung  eines  Kunstinstituts 
zu  kampfen  haben,  das  ein  zahlreiches  Deutschtum  wie  das  hie- 
sige  so  kraftig  unterstiitzen  sollte  (und  konnte),  dass  die  regel- 
massigsten  Einnahmen  tnindestens ,  nicht  aber,  wie  bislang,  Mister 
Deficit  leider  eine  Hauptrolle  zu  spielen  bekommt."31  An  at 
tempt  had  been  made  to  engage  the  support  of  the  dissenting  ele 
ment  of  the  German  public  by  occasionally  staging  performances 
in  one  of  the  large  theatres  on  Sundays,  but  without  the  desired 
result.  Commenting  upon  a  performance  held  in  De  Bar's  Opera 
House  a  review  in  the  Anzeiger  for  March  21,  1875,  sa^ :  "Man 
hatte  glauben  sollen,  dass  Diejenigen,  die  als  Entschuldigung 
oder  Rechtfertigung  ihres  Nichtbesuchens  der  Oper  jahraus  jahr- 
ein  die  Mangel  des  Lokals  vorschiitzen,  die  gestern  gebotene  Ge- 
legenheit,  die  Oper  im  besten  Theatergebaude  der  Stadt  horen 
zu  konnen,  beniitzt  haben  und  sich  in  grosser  Zahl  eingestellt  ha 
ben  wiirden — fehl  geschossen!  Von  den  Herrschaften  war  keine 
Spur  zu  erblicken.  .  .  .  Am  Sonntag  wird  die  'Aristokratie' 


Anzeiger  des  Westens,  June  4,  1875. 


50  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

so  wie  so  nicht  erwartet.  Sonntags  fiillt  sich  das  Haus  durch 
Gewerbtreibendc,  der  sogenannte  'Kleine  Geschaftsmann/  del 
Handwerker  und  Arbeiter  bereitet  sich  und  den  Seinen  da  die 
beste  Erholung,  indem  er  in  die  Oper  geht — und  dicsc  Besucher- 
klasse  zeigt  durch  ihr  regelmassiges  Wiederkommen,  dass  sie 
Sinn  und  Geschmack  fiir  diese  Art  Unterhaltung  besitzt.  .  .  ." 
Of  the  944  plays  recorded  for  the  Apollo  stage  from  the 
summer  of  1870  till  June  27,  1875,  excluding  the  winter  season  of 
1870-71,  during  which  Pelosi  had  charge  of  the  Apollo  Theater, 
431  were  operas  or  operettes  and  37  Singspielc,  together  about 
50%  of  the  total.  The  Trailer  spiel,  Schauspicl,  Volksstiick, 
Lustspiel,  and  Posse,  represented  respectively  i — ,  S-f-,  17 — , 
1 1+,  and  14 —  per  cent,  of  the  total. 

The  Pelosi  Directorship  18/1-1880. 

During  the  years  in  which  the  Apollo  Theater  was  to  a  large 
extent  being  devoted  to  opera  and  operetta,  St.  Louis  at  the 
same  time  enjoyed  a  creditable  German  theatre  under  the  di 
rectorship  of  Louis  Pelosi.  As  already  pointed  out  Pelosi  had 
charge  of  the  Apollo  Theater  during  the  winter  season  of 
1870-71,  during  which  he  played  three  times  weekly.  He  came 
to  St.  Louis  heralded  with  a  flattering  reputation.  An 
editorial  announcing  his  coming  said :  "Das  Apollo  Theater  hat 
der  Phasen  so  viele  erlebt,  die  hiesigen  deutschen  Biihnen- 
verhaltnisse  haben  im  Laufe  der  Jahre  alle  Stadien  des  Wohl- 
ergehens  und  Nichtwohlergehens  durchgemacht,  dass  der  Hoff- 
nungsanker,  der  jetzt  ausgeworfen  wird,  von  Seiten  aller  Freun- 
den  der  Biihne  und  des  deutschen  Publikums  im  Allgemeinen  mit 
doppelter  Freude  begriisst  werden  sollte,  da  sich  im  Pelosischen 
Ehepaare  die  tiichtige  Direktionskraft  mit  trcfflicher  Leistungs- 
fahigkeit  auf  den  Brettern  vereint  und  somit  dern  Hierherkom- 
men  des  Paares  zwiefacher  Werth  fiir  die  hiesigen  Theaterver- 
haltnisse  beizumessen  ist."32  Editorial  comment  at  the  end  of  the 
season  indicates  that  Pelosi  lived  up  to  the  reputation  which 
heralded  his  coming.  "Wenn  je  eine  Direktion  zu  Anerkennung 


Anzeigcr  des  Westens,  October  26,  1871. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  51 

und  Lob  berechtigt  war,  so  ist  es  die  gegenwartige  des  Apollo 
Theaters.  Herr  und  Fran  Pelosi  haben  dem  alten  Schlendrian 
friiherer  Jahre  ein  Ende  gemacht  und  in  das  Chaos  der  hiesigen 
deutschen  Biihne  Ordnung  gebracht.''33  Pelosi  raised  the 
standard  of  the  theatre  over  that  which  it  had  been  for  a  number 
of  years.  His  repertory  during  the  first  season  included  two  per 
formances  of  Schiller's  Rauber,  one  of  Schiller's  Wilhelm  Tell, 
one  of  Shakespeare's  Hamlet,  one  of  Grillparzer's  Medea,  and 
among  other  serious  dramas  two  performances  each  of  Brachvo- 
gel's  Narciss  and  Halm's  Griseldis.  The  reviews  of  the  per 
formances  for  this  season  are  not  detailed,  but  are  universally 
favorable,  as  illustrated  in  the  following  comment  upon  a  mid- 
season  performance,  "Die  gute  Einstudierung  der  Vorstellungen 
ist  eine  der  Hauptaufgaben,  die  sich  die  Direktion  gestellt  hat; 
nach  dieser  Richtung  hin  ist  ihr  Eifer  besonders  tatig,  und  das 
Resultat  sind  eben  gerundete  Auffiihrungen."34  Attendance  at  his 
performances  was  not  only  consistently  good,  but  included  many 
of  the  "old  guard"  who  took  interest  in  the  theatre  only  when  it 
from  the  standpoint  of  merit  warranted  recognition.  A  review 
of  a  performance  contained  in  the  Anzeiger  des  Westens  for 
April  7,  1872,  is  typical  of  a  number  of  editorial  utterances  sub 
stantiating  this  fact:  "Die  Freunde  der  deutschen  Biihne  hatten 
sich  am  Freitag  Abend  recht  zahlreich  im  Apollo  Theater  einge- 
funden,  um  einer  (dritten  oder  gar  vierten)  Wiederholung  des 
Benedixschen  Lustspiels  Die  zartlichcn  Verwandtcn  beizuwohnen. 
Es  war  eine  seit  lange  entbehrte  Genugthuung  fur  altere  hiesige 
Theater  freunde,  im  Zuschauerraume  nicht  wenige  von  jenen  deut 
schen  Familien  zu  erblicken,  die  zu  den  Zeiten  Bornstein's,  Pfeif- 
fer's  und  Koser's  den  Kern  des  Theaterpublikums  zu  bilden  und 
selten  bei  einer  Vorstellung  zu  fehlen  pflegten;  jene  Familien,  auf 
die  in  friiheren  Jahren  die  Direktion  so  zu  sagen  zahlen  konnte. 
Leider  ist  es  jetzt  Ausnahme,  was  damals — wir  sprechen  von  den 
Jahren  1859  bis  1866 — Regel  war.  Unter  einer  Direktion  wie 
die  Pelosische  wurden  sich  allerdings  die  hiesigen  Theaterver- 
haltnisse  nach  und  nach  wieder  ins  rechte  Geleise  bringen  lassen. 

88 Anzeiger  des  Westens,  April  25,  1872. 
"Anzeiger  des  Westens,  January  14,  1872. 


52  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

.  .  .  Mag  die  Sommersaison  nun  bringen  was  sie  will — die 
Wintersaison  brachte  sicher  und  gewiss  gar  manches  Gute  und 
Schone  und  vor  Allem  gerundete,  wohlvorbereitete  Auffiihrun- 
gen." 

Pelosi  for  the  next  eight  consecutive  winters,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  season  1876-77,  contemporaneous  with  and  for  several 
years  following  the  seasons  in  which  the  Apollo  was  largely  de 
voted  to  opera,  continued  to  give  St.  Louis  a  creditable  German 
stage.  During  these  seasons  he  performed  weekly  on  Sundays. 
During  the  first  four  and  the  last  of  these  seasons  35  he  staged  his 
plays  in  the  Olympic  Theatre,  during  the  season  of  1877-78  in 
Ben  De  Bar's  Opera  House.  Beginning  October  3,  1875,  while 
staging  Sunday  performances  in  the  Olympic,  he  also  performed 
several  times  weekly  in  the  Apollo  Theater,  but  discontinued  on 
January  17.  The  season  in  the  Apollo  concluding  June  4,  begin 
ning  March  3  was  continued  by  a  company  under  the  director 
ship  of  Mme.  Solia,  to  be  transferred  beginning  April  16  to  the 
directorship  of  Silberberg  and  Schulz.  The  Apollo  ensemble  con 
tinued  to  perform  several  times  weekly,  and  in  addition  gave 
Sunday  performances  in  De  Bar's  Opera  House. 

During  these  years  Pelosi's  performances  continued  to  merit 
favorable  comment  in  the  columns  of  the  press  and  to  attract 
audiences  which  continued  to  be  termed  gewahlt.  The  tenor  of 
the  press  comment  is  that  of  the  excerpts  quoted  above  for  the 
season  1870-71. 

The  winter  of  1876-77  Pelosi  spent  in  Germany.  During 
his  absence  St.  Louis  had  two  theatres.  From  September  17, 
1876,  to  April  15,  1877,  De  Bar's  Opera  House  was  the  home  of 
Sunday  performances.  The  season  opened  under  the  manage 
ment  of  Silberberg  and  Company.  Beginning  with  October  22  it 
continued  under  the  management  of  Paul  Dilg  and  Company. 
This  Opera  House  ensemble  attempted  weekday  performances, 
first  in  the  St.  Louis  Stadttheater,  on  Morgan  Street,  between 


35  September  i,  1872,  to  May  4,  1873;  August  31,  1873,  to  May  3,  1874; 
September  6,  1874,  to  April  16,  1875;  September  19,  1875,  to  April  16,  1876; 
October  21,  1877,  to  April  21,  1878;  September  I,  1878,  to  May  i,  1879;  Sep 
tember  21,  1879,  to  December  21,  1879. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  53 

Tenth  and  Eleventh,  and  later  in  the  Apollo  Theater.  But  poor 
attendance  caused  the  weekday  performances  soon  to  be  discon 
tinued.  During  the  same  winter  Alexander  Wurster,  director  of 
the  New  Chicago  Theater,  conducted  Sunday  performances  in  the 
Olympic  Theatre  from  September  24  till  May  6,  with  occasional 
Sunday  and  weekly  performances  in  the  Apollo. 

Members  of  Wurster's  Company  continued,  under  the  man 
agement  of  Lewens,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  ensuing  sum 
mer  to  present  Posse  and  Lustspiel  on  Sundays  in  the  Apollo. 
Beginning  with  May  27  Carl  Schmidt  during  the  same  summer 
directed  a  summer  theatre  devoted  chiefly  to  Posse  and  Lustspiel 
in  a  new  theatre  erected  in  Strathmanns  La  Fayette  Park  at  Sec 
ond  Street  and  Carondolet  Avenue.  Performances  on  this  stage 
were  initially  given  three  times  weekly.  But  the  public  was  not 
responsive  to  the  new  enterprise.  An  editorial  of  June  17  in 
commenting  upon  the  poor  attendance  it  received  says :  "Hier 
hat  man  sich  die  Gleichgiltigkeit,  die  schon  gar  Manches  zu 
Grabe  tragen  half,  auch  der  Sommerbuhne  gegeniiber  gel  tend  und 
zwar  in  solchem  Masse,  dass  es  nach  alien  Richtungen  sehr  zu 
bedauern  ist. — So  lange  im  Apollo  Theater  gespielt  wurde,  das 
als  Sommertheater  nur  der  grossen  Hitze  wegen  nicht  alien  An- 
forderungen  entsprach — so  weit  die  Raumlichkeiten  in  Betracht 
kommen — wurde  das  Nichthingehen  mit  der  Lokalitat,  mit  dem 
Eingang,  mit  dem  Mangel  an  Eleganz  und  dergleichen  motivirt. 
Jetzt  aber  hat  ein  unternehmender  Privatmann  im  priichtigsten 
Stadtteile,  mitten  zwischen  Garten  und  Baumen,  mittelst  Stras- 
senbahn  bequem  zu  erreichen,  in  nachster  Nahe  des  schonsten 
Parks  der  Stadt,  ein  Sommertheater  bauen  lassen,  das  ein  wahres 
Schmuckkastchen  ist,  in  einem  Garten  steht,  und  worin  gut  ge 
spielt  wird — und  wie  sieht's  nun  da  mit  der  'Unterstiitzung'  aus  ? 
— Obgleich  wochentlich  nur  dreimal  gespielt  wird  ...  so  sind 
die  Vorstellungen  nur  Sonntags  angemessen  besucht,  wahrend  an 
den  Wochentagen  der  Zuschauerraum  nur  sehr  selten  gefiillt  ist. 
Und  doch  sind  die  Vorstellungen  fleissig  einstudirt,  sorglich  vor- 
bereitet — die  Gesellschaft  ist  aus  recht  tiichtigen  Kraften  zusam- 
mengesetzt — die  Regie  ruht  in  fahigen  Handen  und  man  darf  sich 


54  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

versichert  halten,  den  Abend  auf  das  Angenehmste  zu  verbrin- 
gen,  wenn  man  das  Lafayettepark  Theater  besucht."36 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  season  the  La  Fayette  Park 
Theater  varied  its  program  by  alternating  English  plays  with  Ger 
man  performances.  An  attempt  was  made  during  the  following 
summer  to  again  stage  German  plays  in  this  theatre,  but  the  at 
tempt  met  with  no  success ;  after  the  middle  of  July  the  press  gives 
no  further  notice  of  such  performances.  During  the  summer  of 

1879  St.  Louis  had  no  summer  theatre.     During  the  summer  of 

1880  an  attempt  was  made  to  again  establish  a  German  stage  in 
the  La  Fayette  Park  theatre,  now  called  the  Thalia  Sommergar- 
ten  Theater.     But  after  several  performances  the  attempt  was 
given  up. 

While  Pelosi  after  a  year's  absence  resumed  Sunday  per 
formances  during  the  winter  of  1877-78,  this  time  in  De  Bar's 
Opera  House,  Wurster  again  as  during  the  winter  previously  gave 
Sunday  performances  in  the  Olympic  (September  16  to  April  7). 
The  following  winter  Pelosi  had  the  field  to  himself.  During  the 
season  1879-80,  while  he  was  again  playing  in  the  Olympic,  his 
performances  suffered  competition  by  a  stage  instituted  by  Wil- 
helm  Rieckhoff.  Rieckhoff  gave  performances  three  times  weekly 
from  August  31  till  February  27  in  the  Apollo  Theater,  which 
had  been  remodelled  during  the  course  of  the  preceding  summer. 
At  the  end  of  February  due  to  poor  attendance  he  discontinued 
the  weekday  performances  and  played  Sundays  only  from  Feb 
ruary  29  till  April  30,  1880,  in  Pope's  Theatre  at  Ninth  and  Ohio 
Streets.  These  Sunday  performances  proved  more  attractive. 
The  character  of  Rieckhoff 's  audience  compared  favorably  with 
that  of  Pelosi.  In  fact  Pelosi  this  season  discontinued  perform 
ances  with  the  end  of  December  and  the  allegiance  which  the 
public  had  shown  his  enterprise  was  transferred  to  that  of  Rieck 
hoff.  A  review  toward  the  close  of  the  season  summarizes  the 
activitiy  of  the  latter  as  follows :  "Die  Rieckhoffsche  Gesell- 
schaft  hatte  tins — wenige  vereinzelte  Ausnahmen  abgerechnet— 
recht  gute  Vorstellungen  geboten  und  hatte  die  Lust  an  deutschen 


1  Anzeigcr  des  Wesicns,  June  17,  1877. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  55 

Kreisen  geweckt,  in  denen  seit  lange  eine  formliche  Apathie  ge- 
gen  die  deutsche  Biihne  geherrscht  hatte;  die  Besetzung  der 
Rollen  war  in  den  meisten  Fallen  eine  gute  gewesen,  die  Auffiih- 
rungen  waren  sorgfaltig  vorbereitet,  die  Ausstattung  war — was 
die  Toiletten  der  Damen  anlangt — vorziiglich,  mit  einem  Worte : 
die  Gesellschaft  verdient  ungeschmalerte  Anerkennung  fur  das 
Geleistete."37 

The  year  1880  did  not  mark  the  termination  of  Pelosi's  con 
nection  with  the  German  theatre  in  St.  Louis.  The  following 
year  he  again  appeared  on  the  stage  and  subsequently  was  again 
active  as  director.  But  his  subsequent  directorship  falls  in  a 
period  where  the  German  theatre  was  handicapped  by  the  want 
of  an  adequate  home.  The  year  1880  therefore  marks  the  close 
of  the  most  successful  part  of  Pelosi's  career  as  director.  As 
reference  to  the  repertory  for  the  period  will  show  (see  Ap 
pendix),  his  stage  from  a  literary  standpoint  ranked  far  supe 
rior  to  that  of  his  contemporaries. 

d.  1880-1891.    A  Period  of  Varying  Fortune. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1880  the  English  theatres  were 
commencing  to  be  used  on  Sunday  evenings  for  English  per 
formances.  The  nomadic  existence  which  the  German  stage  in 
consequence  of  the  want  of  a  permanent  home  was  during  the 
next  decade  therefore  constrained  to  lead,  coupled  with  frequent 
changes  of  management,  made  the  fortune  of  the  German  stage 
during  this  decade  a  varying  one. 

Rieckhoff  again  staged  Sunday  performances  in  Pope's  The 
atre  during  the  winters  of  1 880-81  and  1881-82.  The  first  of  these 
two  seasons  was  again  a  moderate  success.  The  Anzeiger  des  We- 
stens  for  March  26,  1881,  says:  "Die  diesjahrige  Theatersaison, 
welche  Herr  Rieckhoff  unter  den  glanzendsten  Auspizien  eroff- 
nete,  hat  zwar  nicht  alle  Erwartungen  erfiillt,  welche  Direktion 
und  Publikum  daran  kniipften,  aber  sie  hat  doch  den  Beweis  ge- 
liefert,  dass  ein  gutes  deutsches  Theater  in  St.  Louis  nicht  nur 
existenzfahig  ist,  sondern  geradezu  als  ein  Bediirfnis  betrachtet 


Anzeiger  des  Westens,  April  19,  1880. 


56  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

werden  muss."  This  season  Rieckhoff  had  had  the  field  to  him 
self.  The  following  season  (1881-82),  however,  he  had  serious 
competition  by  performances  instituted  by  Alexander  Wurster 
with  a  strong  ensemble  in  the  Apollo  Theater,  which  had  again 
been  rebuilt,  and  by  a  number  of  visiting  companies  who  offered 
star  attractions.  The  Wurster  ensemble  usually  performed  on 
Sundays  in  the  Grand  Opera  House.  The  Rieckhoff  ensemble 
excelled  in  the  Lnstspiel  and  the  Konversationsstuck;  the  Wur 
ster  ensemble  in  Posse  and  Gesangsstuck. 

St.  Louis  had  not  for  several  seasons  past  adequately  sup 
ported  one  good  German  theatre.  It  could  not  support  two. 
Both  the  enterprise  of  Wurster  and  of  Rieckhoff  therefore  termi 
nated  Abruptly  with  financial  loss  to  the  directors,  the  former 
March  16,  the  latter  April  18.  Though  the  season  from  a 
financial  standpoint  had  been  a  failure  to  both  directors,  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  standard  of  attainment  reached  on  the  two 
stages  the  public  had  profited  by  the  competition  between  them. 
"Die  Saison  1881-82  war  eine  sehr  reiche  und  mannigfache  Ab- 
wechslung  bietende.  Wie  konnte  auch  eine  Theatersaison  nicht 
reich  sein,  die  uns  einen  Haase,  einen  Sonntag,  eine  Geistinger — 
der  die  minorum  gentium,  die  als  Gaste  kamen,  gar  nicht  zu  ge- 
denken — brachte  ?  .  .  .  Freilich  gingen  die  beiden  Direktoren, 
die  sich  bittere  Concurrenz  machten,  dariiber  elendiglich  zu 
Grunde  und  ihre  hinterlassenen  Truppen  mussten  sich  nicht  bios 
in  alle  Winde  zerstreuen,  sondern  auf  dem  nicht  sehr  ungewohn- 
lichen  Wege  der  Benefizvorstellung  zum  Theil  ihr  Fortkommen 
von  hier,  zum  Theil  ihr  Hierbleiben  ermoglichen.  Aber  vom 
Standpunkte  der  Kunst  betrachtet  war  die  Saison,  wie  gesagt, 
eine  der  besten,  die  wir  noch  je  zu  verzeichnen  hatten."38 

During  the  summer  of  1881  St.  Louis  had  no  summer  the 
atre.  Contemporaneous,  however,  with  the  initial  weeks  of  the 
performances  of  the  rival  stages  under  the  direction  of  Rieck 
hoff  and  Wurster,  Victor  Sarner  from  September  22  till  Novem 
ber  13,  1 88 1,  conducted  a  Volkstheater  in  the  Tivoli  Halle  at 
Fourth  and  Elm  Streets,  in  which  he  staged  Lustspiel  and  Posse 
several  times  weekly.  During  the  spring  of  1882  he  conducted 

88  Anzeiger  des  Weslens,  April  30,  1882. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  57 

such  a  Volkstheater  in  the  Apollo  (March  5  to  May  28),  and  in 
August  of  the  same  year  lie  made  a  short-lived  attempt  to  insti 
tute  a  similar  theatre  in  Union  Park,  Ninth  Street  and  Allen 
Avenue,  which  notices  such  as  the  following  were  designed  to 
make  attractive:  "Ferner  kann  man  wahrend  der  Vorstellung 
in  aller  Gemiithlichkeit  sein  Glas  Bier  trinken,  eine  Cigarre  dazu 
rauchen,  Sandwich,  etc.,  verzehren,  und  sich  an  den  auf  der 
Biihne  gebotenen  Gentissen  ergotzen."  This  was  the  last  summer 
in  which  St.  Louis  enjoyed  a  Sommertheater. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  September,  1882,  the  Apollo  Theater 
again  became  the  home  of  an  operette  and  dramatic  ensemble  un 
der  the  direction  of  Louis  Genee.  The  plan  to  pertorm  four 
times  weekly  abruptly  culminated  October  8.  Although  the  en 
semble  included  first-class  talent,  including  the  primadonna  Ma 
ria  Konig,  it  failed  to  gain  the  recognition  of  the  public.  Alwine 
Heynold,  the  soubrette  of  the  organization,  thereupon  attempted 
to  reorganize  the  theatre  under  her  direction.  The  attempt  netted 
less  than  a  dozen  performances  (October  15  to  November  26)  ere 
it  failed.  Beginning  with  December  3,  Victor  and  Hugo  Sarner 
assumed  charge  of  the  Apollo.  They  played  weekly  on  Sundays. 
After  several  performances  they  dissolved  partnership.  Hugo 
Sarner  continued  the  season  till  May  20,  essaying  nothing  more 
pretentious  than  Posse  and  Lustspiel  which  had  been  staged  in 
St.  Louis  many  times  previously.  After  the  fashion  of  the  Yolks- 
theater  the  performances  were  usually  followed  by  a  "Tanzkranz- 
chen." 

During  this  season  while  the  Apollo  was  the  home  of  weekly 
Sunday  performances  an  attempt  was  made  in  the  interest  of  a 
better  ensemble  and  a  more  varied  repertory  to  constitute  a  the 
atrical  circuit  of  the  three  cities  St.  Louis,  Milwaukee  and 
Chicago.  A  paragraph  taken  from  the  Anzeiger  des  West  ens  for 
August  3,  1882,  outlines  the  scheme. 

"Das  deutsche  Theater  in  St.  Louis  wird  im  kommenden 
Winter  unter  Direktor  Collmers  Leitung  stehen,  der  seit  ein  paar 
Jahren  die  Direktion  eines  der  vielen  Milwaukeer  Theater  ge- 
fiihrt  hat.  Die  beiden  anderen  Mitglieder  des  Direktionstrium- 
virats,  das  die  Buhnen  in  St.  Louis,  Chicago  und  Milwaukee  nach 


58  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

dem  Co-operationsplan  'bewirtschaften'  wird,  sind  Alexander 
Wurster  und  Major  Isenstein.  Alexander  der  Grosse  hat  Mil 
waukee  zum  Wirkungskreise  erkoren,  der  Major  bleibt  bei  seinen 
Laren  und  Penaten,  d.  h.  in  Chicago.  Die  drei  Gesellschaften  bil- 
den  faktisch  cine;  die  Mitglieder  wurden  bald  in  St.  Louis,  bald  in 
Chicago  oder  Milwaukee  spielen,  wohin  immer  sie  einzeln  oder 
als  Ganzes  (a  la  Meiningen)  dirigirt  werden.  Auf  diese  Weise 
wird  erstlich  hier  ein  moglichst  gutes  ensemble  gesorgt  sein, 
zweitens  wird  das  Repertoire  die  wiinschenswerte,  um  nicht  zu 
sagen  nothwendige  Abwechslung  bieten  und  drittens  wird  der 
regelmassige  Besucher  nicht  den  ganzen  Winter  (d.  h.  vom  Oc 
tober  bis  zum  April)  sich  an  ein  und  denselben  Gesichtern  mude 
sehen  mussen.  Das  ist  auch  etwas  werth." 

Pope's  Theatre  was  the  home  of  the  St.  Louis  perform 
ances.  The  season  opened  October  8.  Performances  were  given 
weekly  on  Sundays.  But  the  scheme  failed  to  work.  Disagree 
ment  among  the  directors  early  in  December  led  to  a  dissolution. 
The  St.  Louis  stage  gave  its  last  performance  December  3. 

The  following  winter  the  Apollo  Theater  was  not  used  for 
German  performances.  The  only  German  theatre  St.  Louis 
could  boast  of  during  this  season  consisted  of  a  series  of  medi 
ocre  performances  held  on  Sundays,  from  September  23,  1883, 
to  April  27,  1884,  under  the  joint  directorship  of  Pelosi  and 
Hugo  Sarner,  occasionally  in  Pope's  Theatre,  but  more  often  in 
one  or  the  other  Turnhalle. 

During  the  winter  of  1884-85  Victor  Sarner  again  assumed 
charge  of  the  Apollo  Theater,  making  of  it  a  Volkstheater.  Per 
formances  were  given  on  Sundays  from  November  9  to  May  10. 
The  following  winter  Pelosi  and  Hugo  Sarner  again  conducted 
the  Apollo  stage.  They  gave  Sunday  performances  from  Sep 
tember  20  to  May  2.  Though  nominally  this  season  not  a  Volks 
theater,  the  theatre  in  fact  did  not  amount  to  more. 

During  the  winter  of  1886-87  St.  Louis  again  had  no  regu 
larly  established  German  theatre.  In  September  Pelosi  instituted 
German  performances  in  the  Apollo.  His  venture  soon  ended. 
October  24,  Louis  Menschke  reopened  the  same  theatre  with  a 
series  of  Sunday  performances,  which  continued  till  the  middle  of 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  59 

January,  whereupon  the  theatre  was  again  advertised  for  rent. 
April  3  it  was  again  formally  reopened,  this  time  by  Eduard 
Schmitz  as  a  Volkstheater.  Schmitz  concluded  the  season  in  May 
after  a  half  dozen  Sunday  performances. 

While  the  Apollo  was  undergoing  diverse  changes  of  man 
agement,  Hugo  Sarner  from  September  till  April  advertised  occa 
sional  Sunday  performances.  But  his  ensemble  had  no  regular 
home.  It  played  first  in  one  theatre,  then  in  another. 

Schmitz  continued  to  conduct  Sunday  performances  in  the 
Apollo  during  the  following  four  winter  seasons  (1887-1891 ).  He 
was  destined  to  be  the  last  of  the  many  directors  of  the  German 
theatre  the  Apollo  had  had.  The  building  was  once  more  used 
as  a  German  theatre  during  the  season  1891-92,  but  under  the 
name  of  Sarner's  Theatre.  Throughout  the  four  winter  seasons, 
while  the  Apollo  was  the  home  of  German  drama  under  Schmitz's 
direction — principally  Lustspiel  and  Posse — Hugo  Sarner  with 
more  or  less  regularity  continued  to  give  Sunday  performances 
first  on  one,  then  another  stage,  usually  in  the  Olympic  theatre. 
Much  that  he  presented  was  good,  much  mediocre,  but  at  all 
events  his  performances  mark  an  improvement  over  those  in  the 
Apollo  during  this  period. 

IV.     1891-1912. 

A  REVIVAL  OF  INTEREST.      THE  GERMANIA  THEATER.      THE  DIREC 
TORSHIP  OF   HEINEMAN  AND  WELB. 

The  season  1890-91,  the  season  which  marks  the  termina 
tion  of  Schmitz's  directorship  in  the  Apollo  Theater,  for  two  rea 
sons  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  Ger 
man  theatre  in  St.  Louis.  The  season  marks  a  decided  increase 
in  interest  in  the  German  theatre,  which  two  years  later  was  to 
culminate  in  the  establishment  of  the  Germania  Theatre,  the  first 
attempt  to  establish  a  permanent  German  theatre  in  St.  Louis  to 
net  tangible  results  since  the  closure  of  the  St.  Louis  Opernhaus 
in  1862.  And  it  marks  the  introduction  of  the  modern  German 
realistic  drama  on  the  St.  Louis  stage. 

March  30,  1890,  Hugo  Sarner  announced  in  the  columns  of 


60  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

the  Anzeiger  des  Westens  his  intention  to  stage  performances  in 
St.  Louis  twice  weekly  during  the  coming  winter  with  an  en 
larged  and  improved  ensemble.  May  5  Hermann  Riotte  in  the 
same  paper  outlined  elaborate  plans  for  a  German  theatrical  sea 
son  under  his  management.  Friends  of  the  theatre  realized  from 
past  experience  that  three  German  theatres — including  Schmitz's 
stage  in  the  Apollo — would  be  more  than  the  German  theatre 
going  public  could  support.  They  therefore  persuaded  Sarner 
and  Riotte  to  join  forces.  Under  their  joint  directorship  Sarner 
and  Riotte,  October  19,  1890,  opened  the  season  with  two  simul 
taneous  performances,  one  an  opera  performance — Czaar  und 
Zimmermann — in  the  Grand  Opera  House,  designed  to  attract 
the  English-speaking  as  well  as  German-speaking  public,  the 
other  a  performance  of  Schonthan's  Salonstiick  Das  Letzte  Wort 
in  the  Olympic  Theatre.  The  two  directors  disagreed  over  the 
feasibility  of  continuing  German  opera  in  St.  Louis  and  there 
fore  amicably  severed  partnership  October  22.  Sarner  agreed  to 
withdraw  from  the  field  for  the  rest  of  the  season.  Riotte  con 
tinued  to  produce  both  opera  and  drama  till  December  8.  The 
opera  company  had  included  good  individual  soloists,  but  the 
chorus  had  been  poor.  The  rest  of  the  season,  concluding  April 
5,  was  devoted  to  the  drama.  Performances  were  usually  given 
four  times  weekly  throughout  the  season,  first  in  one,  then  in 
another  theatre,  on  weekdays  usually  in  the  small  auditorium  of 
the  Exposition  Building  at  Thirteenth  and  Olive  Streets,  on  Sun 
days  usually  in  the  Olympic  Theatre.  Attendance  was  fair.  A 
new  reason  this  season  for  the  first  time  gained  prominence  in  the 
columns  of  the  press  in  argument  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Ger 
man  theatre,  namely,  the  preservation  of  the  German  language  to 
the  youth  of  German  parentage.  "Hier  gilt  es  zu  zeigen,  dass 
uns  die  Muttersprache  lieb  und  werth,  dass  sie  unser  hochstes 
Gut  ist ;  hier  konnen  wir  beweisen,  dass  wir  Sinn  und  Verstand- 
nis  haben  fur  die  deutsche  Kunst  .  .  . ;  hier  haben  wir  auch 
ein  Mittel,  bei  unsern  Kindern,  besonders  bei  denen,  die  in  den 
Flegel — beziehungsweise  Backfisch jahren  stehen  und  so  gern  eng- 
lisch  plappern,  die  Liebe  zur  Sprache  ihrer  Eltern  zu  wecken."39 

89  Anzeiger  des  Westens,  October  19,  1890. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  61 

Under  the  directorship  of  Riotte  Sudermann  and  Ibsen  were 
for  the  first  time  introduced  on  the  German  stage  in  St.  Louis. 
Sudermann's  Die  Ehrc  was  given  for  the  first  time  on  Christmas 
Day  1890.  "Der  Eindruck,  den  das  Stiick  machte,  war  geradezu 
grossartig,  unbeschreiblich."  Die  Ehrc  was  repeated  December 
27,  January  i  and  February  10.  The  excellencies  of  the  play, 
above  all  the  characterization  the  reviewer  praised.  But  it  took 
several  years  before  the  reviewer  and  the  public  became  recon 
ciled  to  the  new  realistic  drama.  Commenting  upon  the  fourth 
performance  of  Die  Ehre  the  critic  wrote :  "Allein  Die  Ehrc  ist 
vor  wenigen  Wochen  mehrmals  hinter  einander  hier  aufgefiihrt 
worden,  und  es  ist  anzunehmen,  dass  jeder  Theater freund,  der 
sie  sehen  wollte,  einer  dieser  Vorstellungen  beigewohnt  hat.  An- 
dernfalls  ist  der  Inhalt  des  Stiickes  derartig,  dass  er  kein  reines 
Geniessen  aufkommen  lasst,  und  sich  unter  gewohnlichen  Um- 
standen  gewiss  nur  wenige  entschliessen  konnten,  es  zweimal  an- 
zusehen."40 

Ibsen's  Gespenster  was  performed  for  the  first  time  January 
n,  1891.  The  critic  condemned  it  in  no  uncertain  terms.  "Im 
Olympic  Theater  ist  gestern  Abend  Heinrich  Ibsen's  'Charakter- 
bild'  Die  Gcspcnster  iiber  die  Biihne  gegangen.  Es  ist  gegangen 
und  hoffentlich  kehrt  es  niemals  wieder,  das  ist  der  fromme 
Wunsch,  den  wir  dieser  AufTiihrung  nachscicken. — Nach  unserer 
vielleicht  veralteten  Ansicht  gehort  dieses  Stiick  des  problemati- 
schen  norwegischen  Dichters  nicht  auf  die  Biihne.  Es  ist  jeder 
Poesie  bar,  entbehrt  jedes  versohnenden  und  befriedigenden  Mo 
ments,  jeder  ansprechenden  Figur,  ist  unschon,  abgesehen  von 
seiner  klaren,  knappen,  packenden  Sprache,  und  unwahr,  weil  un- 
natiirlich.  .  .  .  Ibsen  mag,  wie  seine  Bewunderer  sagen,  der 
Dichter  des  zwanzigsten  Jahrhunderts  sein,  weshalb  soil  aber  das 
neunzehnte  Jahrhundert  sich  von  seinen  'Gjengangere'  anliigen 
und  anekeln  lassen?  Ibsen  behauptet,  das  Leben,  die  Wahrheit 
zu  schildern.  Der  Reginen,  der  Engstrands  und  auch  der  Man- 
ders  gibt's  im  Leben  genug,  aber  ein  wirkliches  Wesen  wie  Frau 
Alving,  gibt  es  zum  Gliick  nicht.  Wer  ohne  Voreingenommen- 


Anzeiger  des  Westens,  February  n,  1891. 


62  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

heit  der  gestrigen  Auffiihrung  beigewohnt  hat,  wircl  uns  Recht 
geben,  und  trotz  der  vortrefflichen  Darstellung  war  wohl  ein  jeder 
froh,  als  das  Stiick  zu  Ende  war."41 

The  naturalistic  French  drama  elicited  the  same  type  of  criti 
cism.  Of  Daudet's  Die  beiden  Compagnons  the  reviewer  in  the 
Anzeiger  for  January  19  wrote:  "Das  Stiick  gehort  zu  jener  be- 
kannten  franzosischen  Ehebruchsdramen,  mit  denen  wir  uns  nicht 
recht  befreunden  konnen."  Benedix  continued  to  prove  more  ac 
ceptable  to  the  audience  and  to  the  critic.  With  reference  to  Das 
bemooste  Plaupt  the  latter  on  February  9,  in  the  Anzeiger  wrote : 
"Das  Publikum  .  .  .  nahm  alles,  was  zur  Vermehrung  der 
Ruhrung  beitragen  konnte,  dankbar  und  willig  an.  Jedenfalls  ein 
erfreulicher  Beweis  dafiir,  dass  wir  im  Westen  hier  Gott  sei  Dank 
noch  nicht  blassirt  sind." 

The  winter  of  1891-92  again  found  the  theatre  under  the 
directorship  of  Hugo  Sarner.  Sarner  performed  weekly  in  Sar- 
ner's  Theatre,  formerly  the  Apollo,  now  used  for  the  last  season 
for  German  theatricals,  and  occasionally  in  the  Olympic  Theatre, 
the  Grand  Opera  House  and  the  Exposition  Building.  His  reper 
tory  from  a  literary  standpoint  marked  a  retrogression  from  that 
of  the  winter  previous.  Aside  from  a  performance  of  Othello, 
in  which  Maurice  Morrison  appeared  in  the  role  of  a  star,  the 
repertory  offered  nothing  beyond  oft  repeated  V  olksstilckc ,  Lust- 
spiel,  and  Posse. 

The  Ger mania  Theater. 

Experience  had  demonstrated  that  a  reputable  German  the 
atre  could  only  be  possible  if  it  had  its  own  home  and  was  not 
compelled  to  journey  from  Sunday  to  Sunday  from  one  theatre 
to  another,  as  had  in  recent  years  been  the  case.  For  the  Eng 
lish  theatres  had  begun  during  the  past  decade  to  utilize  their  re 
spective  stages  for  English  drama  on  Sunday  evenings,  making  it 
impossible  to  find  a  suitable  stage  for  German  drama.  To  the 
end  of  establishing  a  permanent  German  theatre  meetings  had 
been  held.  July  14,  1891,  fourteen  prominent  Germans  finally 
formed  an  organization  which  incorporated  as  the  "German  Dra- 

41  Anzeiger  dcs  IVcstens,  January  12,  1891. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  63 

matic  Association."  These  fourteen  stockholders  were:  S.  H. 
Leathe,  William  J.  Lenip,  Chas.  G.  Stifel,  Chas.  F.  Orthwein,  A. 
Griesediech,  Geo.  D.  Capen,  John  C.  Nulsen,  J.  H.  Conrades,  G. 
Cramer,  Ad.  Bockeler,  A.  Moll,  H.  Duncker,  Geo.  J.  Fritz  and 
William  Schreiber.  They  bought  an  old  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Fourteenth  Street  and  Lucas  Place,  which  they  had  remodelled 
and  termed  the  Germania  Theater.  The  building  equalled  in  ele 
gance  the  former  Opernhaus  of  Bernstein's  day. 

Under  the  most  favorable  auspices  the  theatre  was  opened 
on  the  fourth  of  September  with  a  large  ensemble,  under  the  di 
rection  of  Carl  Waldemar  and  Ed.  C.  Buechel.  Its  list  of  sub 
scribers  for  the  season  included  the  most  prominent  Germans  of 
the  city.  Shakespeare's  Wintermdrchen  was  staged  at  the  initial 
performance.  The  interest  manifested  by  the  public  in  the  new 
theatre  is  attested  by  the  controversy  which  was  waged  by  con 
tributors  to  the  columns  of  the  press  concerning  the  propriety  of 
the  selection  of  a  play  in  keeping  with  the  occasion.  Waldemar 
therefore  felt  himself  obliged  to  justify  his  choice  in  a  communi 
cation  published  in  the  Anseiger  for  August  21,  1892,  in  which 
he  says  in  part: 

"Ich  bin  selbst  sehr  lange  mit  dern  Gedanken  umgegangen, 
das  deutsche  Theater  mit  einem  Stiicke  deutschen  Ursprungs  zu 
eroffnen.  Hierfiir  konnen  naturgemass  nur  Goethe,  Schiller  oder 
Lessing  in  Betracht  kommen.  Gute  Lustspiele  haben  aber  diese 
unsere  Dichter-Heroen,  mit  Ausnahme  viellcicht  (?)  von  Les- 
sing's  Minna  von  Barnhelm,  welches  Stuck  fur  eine  Festvorstel- 
lung  indess  viel  zu  einf ach,  nicht ;  und  das  neue  Biihnenhaus  mit 
einem  Drama  zu  eroffnen,  dazu  konnte  ich  mich  erst  recht  nicht 
entschliessen.  Ausserdem  kommen  bei  einer  Eroffnungs-Vorstel- 
lung  noch  so  viele  andere  Factoren  in  Betracht,  von  denen  der 
Laie  absolut  nichts  weiss,  nichts  wissen  kann,  mit  denen  wir  in- 
dessen  hochst  bedeutsarn  zu  rechnen  haben,  dass  schon  aus  sol- 
chen  Griinden  unsere  Wahl  nur  zu  berechtigt  erscheinen  muss. 
Es  handelt  sich  bei  der  Eroffnung  des  neuen  Theaters  zur  Haupt- 
sache  auch  darum,  das  gesammte  Biihnenpersonal  dem  Publi- 
kum  im  gimstigsten  Lichte,  d.  h.  in  guten  Rollen  vorzuftihren.— 
Das  ist  der  Fall  im  Wintermdrchen.  .  .  .  Hier  sind  ca.  15 


64  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

gute  Rollen,  in  denen  meine  Mitglieder  ihre  Leistungsfahigkeit 
bethatigen  konnen.  Ferner  kann  ich  die  grossartigsten  Decora- 
tions-Effekte  hier  zu  Geltung  bringen;  grosse  Massen-Scenen, 
blendende  Costume,  wie  eine  herrliche,  zum  Winter  mar  chen  ei- 
gens  componirte  Musik  tragcn  weiter  das  Ihrige  zum  Gelingen  des 
Ganzen  in  schonster  Weise  bei,  kurzum,  es  muss  uni  jeden  Preis 
mit  der  Erst-Auffiihrung  in  jeder  Beziehung  ein  voller  Erfolg  er- 
zielt  werden  und  deshalb  eben  wiihlte  ich  fiir  diese  Shakespeare's 
Wintermdrchen." 

He  then  cites  Schlegel's  estimate  of  the  play  and  concludes 
by  finding  a  precedent  for  his  selection  in  that  the  new  "Wiener 
Hofburg  Theater"  was  opened  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  August 
Forster  with  the  same  Shakespearian  drama. 

Performances  during  this  season  were  give  four  or  five  times 
weekly,  concluding  May  28.  In  addition  to  the  performances 
given  in  St.  Louis,  the  ensemble  played  fifteen  times  in  Chicago, 
nine  times  in  Belleville,  eight  times  in  Omaha,  six  times  in  Kan 
sas  City,  and  twice  in  St.  Joseph  and  in  Peoria.  From  a  financial 
standpoint  the  season  ended  with  a  deficit,  due  largely  to  a  loss 
of  $3000  incurred  on  the  visit  of  the  company  to  Chicago,  where 
the  poor  location  of  the  theatre  and  bad  weather  combined  to  keep 
down  the  patronage. 

From  a  literary  standpoint  the  stage  during  this  season 
ranked  high.  Of  121  plays  performed  during  the  season  30  pos 
sessed  recognized  literary  quality.  The  repertory  included  two 
performances  each  of  Goethe's  Faust  and  Shakespeare's  Winter 
mdrchen,  and  one  performance  each  of  Goethe's  Egmont,  Schil 
ler's  Braut  von  Messina,  Don  Carlos,  Fiesco,  Jungfrau  von  Or 
leans,  Kabale  und  Liebe,  Maria  Stuart,  Piccolomini,  R'dubcr,  and 
Wallenstein's  Lager,  Lessing's  Minna  von  Barnhehn  and  Emilie 
Galotti,  Shakespeare's  Othello,  Romeo  und  Julie,  und  Der  Wider- 
spentigen  Zdhmung,  Gutzkow's  Uriel  Acosta,  Kleist's  Kdthchen 
von  Hcilbronn,  Laube's  Graf  Essex,  Raimund's  Verschwcnder, 
and  Wildenbruch's  Quitsoivs.  Of  the  realistic  drama  Ibsen's 
Stiitzcn  der  Gesellschaft  and  Wildenbruch's  Haubenlerche  were 
each  presented  once,  Sudermann's  Die  Ehre  and  Die  Heimat  each 
twice. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  65 

The  realistic  drama  failed,  still,  to  gain  the  approval  of  the 
critic.  Judging  from  the  limited  number  of  repetitions  such 
plays  received,  they  were  not  yet  in  favor  with  the  public. 

Alexander  Wurster  was  engaged  to  direct  the  theatre  for 
the  next  three  years.  With  practically  a  new  ensemble  he 
opened  the  first  season  September  17,  1893.  ^  concluded  April 
22.  The  second  lasted  from  September  23  till  April  21.  He 
opened  the  third  season  September  29,  and  again,  as  during  the 
two  years  previous,  he  played  thrice  weekly.  He  exerted  every 
effort  to  make  the  theatre  a  success.  But  the  time  chosen  to 
establish  a  German  theatre  in  St.  Louis,  as  the  sequel  of  events 
showed,  was  inopportune.  The  first  season  in  the  Germania  had 
ended  with  a  deficit.  During  the  first  four  weeks  under  Wur- 
ster's  management  the  income  had  amounted  to  no  more  than 
one-half  the  expense  of  the  enterprise.  By  the  middle  of  the 
third  season  under  his  management  Wurster  was  constrained  to 
give  up  the  directorship.  He  ascribed  the  non-success  of  the 
theatre  primarily  to  the  growing  indifference  on  a  large  part  of 
the  German  public  toward  German  performances.  In  a  curtain 
speech  made  on  the  evening  of  January  19,  in  which  he  an 
nounced  his  withdrawal  from  the  stage,  he  said  in  part : 

"Es  ist  hart  und  bitter  fiir  meine  selbstlosen  und  edlen  Be- 
strebungen,  am  Ende  meines  arbeitsvollen  Lebens  angelangt,  ein- 
sehen  und  beklagen  zu  mussen,  dass  das  Interesse  am  deutschen 
Theater  immer  mehr  erkaltet  und  der  Geschmack  unserer  heran- 
wachsenden  Jugend  sich  lieber  den  amerikanischen  Schaustellun- 
gen  zuwendet. 

"Viele  der  treuesten  Anhanger  meines  Unternehmens  hat 
seit  meinem  Hiersein  der  Tod  ereilt,  andere  sind  durch  irgend 
welche  Beeinflussungen  fortgeblieben,  wieder  andere  haben  sich 
vielleicht  durch  irgend  ein  unbesonnenes  Wort  meinerseits  belei- 
digt  gefiihlt,  andere  mussen  in  ihre  Vereinsversammlungen, 
Clubs  und  Logen  und  wieder  andere  sind  zu  alt  und  zu  bequem 
geworden  oder  spielen  Skat  und  trinken  Bier  dazu,  und  neue 
Freunde  und  Conner  hat  das  Unternehmen  leider  nur  wenige  ge- 
funden. 


66  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

".  .  .  Ich  scheide  mit  dem  Bewusstsein,  Alles  versacht 
und  getan  zu  haben,  was  in  meinen  Verhaltnissen  nur  moglich 
war,  um  ein  Unternehmen  am  Leben  zu  haltcn,  welches  mit 
Treue  und  Liebe  geleitet  und  welches  ich  jetzt  mit  tiefem 
Schmerze  und  Wehmuth  in  andere  Hande  iibergeben  lassen 
muss."42 

The  fact  that  St.  Louis  today  still  maintains  interest  in  Ger 
man  drama  sufficient  to  support  a  permanent  company  would  in 
dicate  that  much  of  the  financial  non-success  of  the  Germania 
Theatre  during  these  years  was  due  to  the  financial  panic  which 
swept  the  country  in  1893. 

In  order  to  insure  a  continuation  of  the  theatrical  season  a 
number  of  friends  of  the  German  drama  immediately  at  a  meet 
ing  presided  over  by  Dr.  Emil  Preetorius,  organized  the  Germania 
Theater  Verein.  Membership  in  the  association  merely  implied 
that  the  member  pledged  himself  to  subscribe  to  a  certain  number 
of  performances  for  the  rest  of  the  season.  The  Verein  rented 
the  Germania  Theater  and  engaged  the  ensemble  which  had  been 
playing  under  Wurster,  for  three  months.  Oscar  Teuscher,  a 
member  of  the  company,  was  engaged  as  stage  manager.  Under 
this  arrangement  the  season  was  successfully  brought  to  a  con 
clusion  April  24,  1896,  whereupon  the  Theater  Verein,  having 
fulfilled  its  purpose,  ceased  to  be. 

At  the  close  of  the  season  a  new  Germania  Theater  Verein 
was  at  once  organized,  with  the  purpose  of  again  insuring  a  Ger 
man  theatre  in  the  Germania  for  the  coming  season.  May  22, 
1896,  St.  Louis  was  visited  by  a  devastating  tornado  which  left 
in  its  wake  damage  to  property  and  real  estate  amounting  to  more 
than  $10,000,000.  The  section  of  the  city  where  those  dwelt 
upon  whom  the  German  theatre  depended  for  its  patronage  was 
the  section  most  affected  by  the  storm.  The  owners  of  the  Ger 
mania  Theater,  which  had  not  proved  a  paying  financial  invest 
ment,  therefore  saw  no  bright  prospects  for  a  successful  Ger 
man  theatrical  season  for  the  ensuing  winter.  Inasmuch  as  the 


42  Anzeigcr  dcs  Westens,  January  20,  1896. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  67 

Theater  Verein  had  made  no  definite  request  for  the  building  by 
the  end  of  June,  the  owners  at  that  time  rented  it  to  a  theatrical 
manager  who  purposed  to  use  it  for  English  performances.  The 
Germania  Theater  Verein  in  a  meetting  June  29  therefore  de 
cided,  inasmuch  as  it  could  find  no  theatre  available  for  German 
performances,  not  to  institute  a  German  stage  under  its  auspices 
during  the  coming  season,  but  to  keep  its  organization  intact  with 
a  view  to  again  becoming  active  in  the  future. 

During  the  season  of  1896-97  St.  Louis  was  not,  however, 
to  be  without  a  German  theatre.  Richard  Stolte,  beginning  with 
October  II  staged  plays  weekly  on  Sundays  in  one  of  several 
auditoriums,  usually  in  the  New  Century  Theatre  at  Ninth  and 
Olive  Streets  or  in  the  Olympic.  But  the  season  was  in  no  sense 
a  success.  It  marked  a  decided  retrogression.  The  repertory 
contained  little  other  than  time-worn  Volksstiick,  Lustspicl  and 
Posse.  Ibsen's  Nora  oder  ein  Puppenheim  was  presented  once, 
but  not  without  changing  the  muchly  criticized  conclusion  of  the 
play,  whereby  the  director  won  the  approval  of  the  press  critic, 
who  wrote: 

"Bei  der  Leichtigkeit,  mit  welcher  die  jungen  Leute  heutzu- 
tage,  wenn  sie  kaum  die  Kinderschuhen  entwachsen  sind,  in  die 
Ehe  hinein  und  sehr  haufig  auch  wieder  hinauszuspringen  pfle- 
gen,  darf  man  sich  wohl  gestehen,  dass  ernste  Betrachtungen 
tiber  den  Gegenstand  wohl  angebracht  sind  und  Ibsen's  erschut- 
terndes  Seelengemalde  manches  gute  bewirken  kann,  ohne  dass 
man  alien  Ansichten  und  Folgerungen  des  Verfassers  beizupflich- 
ten  braucht. — Direktor  Stolte  hat,  wohl  aus  Mitleid  fiir  sein 
Publikum,  den  Schluss  eigenmachtig  abgeandert  und  Hess  durch 
Vermittlung  der  Kinder  eine  Versohnung  der  Ehegatten  anbah- 
nen.  Die  star r en  Ibsenverehrer  werden  dariiber  wohl  die  Hande 
iiber  den  Kopf  zusammenschlagen  und  iiber  Inconsequenz  zetern. 
Wir  aber  sind  der  Ansicht,  dass  Inconsequenz  eine  sehr  mensch- 
liche  Eigenschaf  t  ist  und  sogar  bei  Frauen  hier  und  da  vorkommt. 
Deshalb  nehmen  wir  es  Nora  nicht  libel,  wenn  sie  sich  durch  den 
Anblick  ihrer  Kinder  zur  Umkehr  bewegen  lasst,  und  stehen  in 


68  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

diesem  Falle  auf  Seiten  des  menschenfreundlichen  Direktors  ge- 
gen  den  starrkopfigen  Dichter."'13 

Part  of  the  epilog  composed  by  the  journalist  E.  D.  Kargau, 
for  many  years  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  German  stage  in  St. 
Louis,  which  was  spoken  by  Director  Stolte  at  the  concluding 
performance  of  the  season,  March  21,  will  serve  to  summarize 
the  season's  activities. 

"Die  deutsche  Kunst  besass  nach  langer  Bitte 
Ein  eignes  Heim,  das  leider  sie  verier. 
— Nun  zieht  umher  sie  nach  Nomadensitte, 
Ein  obdachloses  Kind,  von  Thor  zu  Thor. — 
Der  Thespiskarren  war  stets  auf  der  Reise 
In  ruhelosem  Zug  bald  hier,  bald  dort. 
Und  kommt  zu  friih  er  jetzt  aus  dem  Geleise, 
So  ist's  nicht  unsre  Schuld,  glaubt  mir's  aufs  Wort. 

"Dazu  der  schwere  Druck  der  schlechten  Zeiten, 
War's  doch  ein  boses  Jahr  fiir's  ganze  Land — 
Bei  der  politischen  Parteien  Streiten 
Hat  ja  die  Kunst  stets  einen  schweren  Stand. — 
Wo  Handel  und  Gewerbe  liegt  darnieder 
Wird  selbst  ein  iipp'ger  Boden  unfruchtbar. 
Vom  Reif  getroffen  bliiht  sobald  nicht  wieder, 
Was  einst  des  Gartens  schonste  Zierde  war. 

"Zum  Hemmschuh  ward  der  Kunst  bescheidnem  HofTen 
Noch  Anderes  im  letzt'  verfloss'nen  Jahr — 
Sie  wird  sogar  vom  Wirbelsturm  betroffen, 
Wenn  zwar  auch  nicht  direkt,  doch  mittelbar. — 
Gar  mancher,  der  in  friihern  Zeiten  gerne, 
So  oft  gespielt  ward,  ins  Theater  kam, 
Blieb  ihm  in  diesem  Winter  ganzlich  feme, 
Weil  der  Tornado  ihm  sein  Alles  nahm. 


Anzciger  des  West  ens,  October  18.  1806. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  69 

"Und  wic  sich  so  die  Hindernisse  tiirmten 
Blieb,  selbstverstandlich,  der  Frfolg  auch  aus; 
Wenn  abends  gar  noch  Schnee  und  Regen  stiirmten, 
Da  spielten  oft  wir  vor  halbleerem  Haus.— 
Ihr  werdet  drum  es  fiir  begreiflich  halten, 
Dass  die  Saison  so  friih  schon  kommt  zum  Schluss — 
Wir  weichen  gleichsam  hoheren  Gewalten, 
Denn  zu  gehorchen  zwingt  das  harte  'Muss'."14 

Stolte  the  following  season  again  attempted  a  German  stage 
in  St.  Louis,  this  time  in  the  former  Broadway  Theatre,  a  small 
theatre  on  South  Broadway,  between  Market  and  Walnut  Streets. 
The  season  opened  September  23.  An  attempt  was  made  to  play 
daily.  The  enterprise  met  with  little  response  on  the  part  of 
the  public,  therefore  abruptly  came  to  a  conclusion  October  25. 
After  several  benefit  performances  following  Stolte's  with 
drawal  from  the  theatre,  the  building  became  the  home  of  Eng 
lish  vaudeville. 

The  next  two  seasons  the  Germania  Theatre  was  again  the 
home  of  German  drama.  The  first  of  these  seasons  the  theatre 
was  under  the  able  stage  direction  of  Georg  Heinemann,  who 
gave  performances  twice  weekly  from  October  2,  1898,  till  April 
1 6,  1899.  From  an  artistic  standpoint  the  season  was  a  success. 
But  financially  it  ended  with  a  deficit.  Though  the  German  DVa- 
matic  Association,  the  owners  of  the  theatre,  made  deductions 
from  the  amount  of  rental  the  contract  with  Heinemann  called 
for,  the  latter  claimed  to  have  personally  lost  $800  in  the  venture, 
aside  from  receiving  no  salary.  He  therefore  refused  to  resume 
charge  of  the  Germania  Theater  the  following  season. 

The  season  in  the  Germania  during  the  winter  of  1899-1900 
was  made  possible  by  a  guarantee  fund  subscribed  to  by  generous 
individuals.  With  the  help  of  this  fund  Mme.  Anna  Frandsch- 
Diel  (of  Cleveland)  agreed  to  assume  charge  of  the  Germania. 
She  opened  the  season  October  I  and  performed  two  and  three 
times  weekly  till  April  I.  The  season  was  only  a  moderate  suc- 


44  Anzeiger  dcs  Westens,  March  22,  1807. 


yo  German  Drama  on  the  St,  Louis  Stage 

cess.  The  ensemble  for  the  season  was  limited.  Mme.  Frandsch 
could  not  therefore  stage  serious  drama  nor  carry  out  her  avowed 
intention  to  introduce  modern  plays.  Aside  from  one  perform 
ance  each  of  Schiller's  Maria  Stuart,  Fulda's  Die  Sklavin  and  Die 
wilde  Jagd,  and  Wilbrandt's  Die  Tochter  des  Herrn  Fabricius, 
her  stage  offered  nothing  of  literary  importance. 

The  Germania  Theater  for  the  following  two  years  was 
again  the  home  of  an  English  stage. 

While  Mme.  Frandsch  was  staging  German  drama  in  the 
Germania,  Heinemann  regularly  conducted  performances  with 
a  separate  ensemble  in  the  Olympic  Theatre  on  Sundays  from 
October  8  till  April  22.  The  season  was  from  the  standpoint  of 
attainment  a  success.  The  Westliche  Post  for  April  23,  1900, 
summarizes  it  in  the  following  eulogistic  terms: 

"Summa  cum  laude!  Mit  diesem.in  der  gestrigen  Schluss- 
auffuhrung  der  Heinemannschen  Theatergesellschaft  im  Olym 
pic  so  oft  gebrauchten  Ausdrucke  mochten  wir  die  letzte  Saisori 
charakterisiren — d.  h.  nur  so  weit  die  Leistungen  auf  der  Biihne 
in  Betracht  kommen.  Wohl  hat  die  Direktion  in  der  Auswahl 
der  aufzufiihrenden  Stiicke  gelegentlich  einen  Missgriff  gemacht, 
doch  lasst  sich  daraus  kaum  ein  Vorwurf  fur  sie  schmieden.  .  .  . 
Die  aufzufiihrenden  Stiicke  waren  durchweg  gut  einstudirt,- 
hiibsch  inszenirt  und  gingen  flott  iiber  die  Bretter.  Das  Ensemble 
war  stets  tadellos  und  die  Hauptkrafte  derselben  lieferten  tins  Lei 
stungen,  die  weit  iiber  das  Durchschnittsmass  hinausgingen  und 
den  Theaterbesuchern  noch  lange  eine  angenehme  Erinnerung  bil- 
den  werden. — Leider  kann  dem  deutschen  Publikum  nicht  das- 
selbe  gute  Zeugniss  ausgestellt  werden.  Es  waren  fast  Sonntag 
fur  Sonntag  die  alten  Gesichter  zu  sehen,  und  manche  Vorstel- 
lung,  besonders  in  den  letzten  Wochen,  war  sehr  diirftig  be- 
sucht.  Unter  diesen  Umstanden  ist  es,  was  Direktion  und 
Kiinstler  betrifft,  doppelt  anerkennenswert,  dass  die  Saison,  wel- 
che  in  finanzieller  Beziehung  kein  'glanzender  Erfolg'  war,  iiber- 
haupt  durchgefiihrt  wurde." 

The  following  season  (October  7,  1900,  till  April  21,  1901  ) 
Heinemann  staged  Sunday  performances  in  the  Olympic,  this 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  71 

time  under  joint  direction  with  Ferdinand  Welb,  who  had  for 
years  been  director  of  the  Pabst  Theater  in  Milwaukee.  Before 
the  opening  of  the  season  the  Theater  Verein  was  again  brought 
to  life.  Its  members  paid  but  a  small  monthly  due,  for  which 
they  received  the  privilege  of  reduction  in  price  of  admission  to 
the  theatre  on  condition  that  they  buy  a  certain  number  of  tickets 
per  month.  This  Theater  Verein  continues  to  exist  today.  It  has 
since  its  organization  been  an  important  factor  in  the  support  of 
the  German  theatre  in  St.  Louis.  Its  purpose  is  not  only  to 
help  the  German  theatre,  but  also  to  provide  for  its  members 
social  gatherings  of  one  sort  or  another  from  time  to  time,  in 
cluding  the  summer  months,  when  these  social  features  have  fre 
quently  assumed  the  nature  of  picnics  and  boat  excursions. 

During  the  season  of  1901-1902  and  1902-1903  Heinemann 
and  Welb  played  twice  weekly  in  the  Germania  Theater,  and  as 
during  the  season  1900-1901,  once  weekly  in  Belleville.  The  end 
of  the  season  1902-1903  marked  the  termination  of  the  Germania 
Theater.  The  building  had  not  been  a  financial  success  as  a  Ger 
man  theatre;  its  owners  therefore  disposed  of  it.  It  has  since 
that  time  been  the  home  of  an  English  stage.  Under  the  name 
of  the  Gayety  Theatre  it  is  at  the  present  time  the  home  of  Eng 
lish  vaudeville. 

The  German  drama  therefore  had  to  seek  a  new  home.  Be 
ginning  with  the  season  1903-1904  the  Odeon,  an  auditorium 
seating  two  thousand,  centrally  located  at  Grand  and  Finney 
Avenues,  became  the  home  of  German  drama.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  the  season  1904-1905,  when  Heinemann  and  Welb  utilized 
the  Olympic  Theatre  on  Sunday  evenings  for  their  stage,  the 
Odeon  continued  to  be  the  regular  home  of  the  German  drama 
till  the  opening  in  1913  of  the  present  Victoria  Theater. 

The  joint  directorship  of  Heineman  and  Welb  of  the  Ger 
man  stage  in  St.  Louis  continued  till  Heinemann's  death,  Febru 
ary  2,  1908.  Welb,  who  had  been  stage  manager  while  Heine 
mann  assumed  charge  of  the  business  phases  of  the  directorship, 
then  continued  as  sole  director  till  his  death,  October  2,  1910. 
Mine.  Welb  assumed  charge  of  the  theatre  after  her  husband's  de- 


J2  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

mise  and  under  her  directorship  brought  the  season  of  1910-1911 
to  a  conclusion.  Since  1911  Hans  Loebel,  the  present  director 
of  the  Victoria  Theater,  has  been  in  charge  of  the  German  stage 
in  St.  Louis. 

The  history  of  the  German  stage  under  the  directorship  of 
Heinemann  and  Welb  after  the  termination  of  the  Germania 
Theater  and  during  the  seasons  of  1910-11  and  1911-12  was  one 
of  even  tenor.  Performances  were  given  regularly  on  Sunday 
evenings  from  October  till  April  or  May.  Attendance  was  fair. 
The  season  of  1905-1906  ended  with  a  small  deficit.  But  usually 
the  theatre  was  a  financial  success  without  the  aid  of  subsidy  or 
guarantee.  In  several  instances  it  became  necessary  to  forestall 
an  impending  deficit  by  exhortation  to  better  attendance  in  the  col 
umns  of  the  press  and  in  speeches  before  the  curtain  in  the  the 
atre.  In  such  instances  the  public  responded  promptly.  Through 
out  these  years  an  unusually  cordial  relation  existed  between  the 
directorship  and  the  members  of  the  ensemble  and  the  public,  as 
reflected  in  press  comment  from  time  to  time.  The  press  always 
granted  liberal  space  to  a  review  of  the  plays  which,  as  far  as 
the  dramatic  presentation  was  concerned,  \vere  almost  universally 
complimentary,  though  it  took  several  years  after  the  introduc 
tion  of  the  realistic  drama  before  the  reviewer  began  to  comment 
upon  them  in  a  conciliatory  tone. 

V.    1911-1914. 

THE  PRESENT  DIRECTORSHIP.      THE  VICTORIA  THEATER. 

When  the  Germania  Theater  was  permanently  closed  to  the 
German  drama  in  1903,  those  most  interested  in  the  continuance 
of  the  German  stage  at  once  began  to  formulate  plans  for  the 
building  of  a  new  theatre.  The  plans  slowly  materialized.  In 
the  course  of  time  the  Deutscher  Theaterbau-Gesellschaft  was  or 
ganized.  In  order  to  interest  as  many  Germans  as  possible  in  the 
theatre  it  was  planned  not  to  allow  a  few  men  to  build  and  own 
the  new  theatre  and  therefore  to  control  its  destiny,  but  to  issue 
stock  at  ten  dollars  per  share  to  as  many  individuals  as  possible. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  73 

Initially  the  capital  stock  of  the  Theaterbau-Gesellschaft  was 
fixed  at  $75,000.  On  the  first  of  April,  1907,  one-half  of  this 
total  was  called  in.  Immediately  a  building  site  was  purchased 
on  which  to  erect  the  proposed  theatre.  But  it  soon  became  mani 
fest  that  a  larger  capital  stock  would  be  needed  in  order  to  insure 
a  theatre  of  any  consequence.  The  venture  then  dragged  until 
the  spring  of  1912,  when  the  directorate  of  the  building  associa 
tion  again  brought  the  project  before  the  public.  The  association 
voted  to  increase  its  capital  stock  and  commenced  building 
operations  at  once.  The  building,  located  on  the  north 
side  of  Delmar  Boulevard,  west  of  Grand  Avenue,  was 
completed  at  a  cost  of  about  $150,000,  owned  by  between  500 
and  600  stockholders.  At  the  time  the  building  was  opened  the 
Board  of  Directors  was  made  up  of  the  following  men  of  promi 
nence:  Leo  Rassieur,  President;  Edward  Westen,  Vice-Presi- 
dent;  J.  A.  Valentin  Schmidt,  Secretary;  Henry  Heil,  Treas 
urer;  Edward  L.  Preetorius,  John  R.  Payten,  Hans  Loebel, 
Frank  W.  Feuerbacher,  Jacob  D.  Goldman,  Hans  Hackel,  Frank 
Tombridge,  Fred  Widman  and  Henry  Walk. 

The  new  theatre — the  Victoria  Theatre — was  formally 
opened  March  i,  1913,  under  the  artistic  directorship  of  Hans 
Loebel,  who  had  opened  the  season  October  6,  1912,  in  the  Odeon, 
where,  as  pointed  out  above,  he  had  also  directed  the  German 
stage  in  1911-1912.  At  this  opening  performance  Goethe's 
Faust  was  given.  Mile.  Kate  Herbst,  leading  lady  of  the  Papst 
Theater  in  Milwaukee,  and  C.  G.  Ackermann,  of  the  Deutsches 
Theater  in  New  York,  appeared  in  the  roles  of  Gretchen  and 
Mephistopheles,  respectively,  assisted  in  the  other  parts  by  mem 
bers  of  the  local  stock  company. 

The  Victoria  Theater  under  Loebel's  direction  has  been  an 
artistic  success.  The  season  1912-1913,  concluding  April  24, 
ended  with  a  small  deficit.  The  season  1913-1914  (October  5 
till  May  10)  ended  with  a  deficit  of  approximately  $12,000. 
These  deficits  were  readily  made  up  by  subscription  among  the 
more  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  German  stage.  As  the  defi 
cits  indicate,  the  German  theatre  does  not  receive  support  from 


74  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

the  German  element  at  large  in  St.  Louis  in  the  measure  it  de 
serves.  But  the  relative  smallness  of  the  deficits,  compared  with 
those  of  New  Work,  Milwaukee,  and  other  places,  speaks  well 
for  the  extent  of  interest  in  the  German  drama  that  still  does 
exist  in  the  city.  At  present  German  performances  continue  to 
be  given  in  the  Victoria  Theatre  once  weekly  on  Sunday  evenings 
throughout  the  season  from  October  till  May.  In  addition  to 
these  performances  a  half  dozen  mid-week  performances  have 
for  several  seasons  past  been  given  in  other  auditoriums  under 
the  auspices  of  the  "Kunstbienen,"  an  organization  of  German 
women  interested  in  the  furtherance  of  German  art  and  culture. 
These  mid-week  performances  have  been  devoted  principally  to 
the  modern  realistic  drama.45 


45  For  the  repertory  of  the  German  stage  under  Hans  Loebel's  director 
ship,  see  Appendix. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  75 

APPENDIX. 

STATISTICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  SEVERAL  STAGES. 
For  comparative  purposes  the  statistical  survey  of  the  sev 
eral  stages  for  the  various  periods  in  the  history  of  the  German 
drama  on  the  St.  Louis  stage  is  arranged  in  tabulated  form.  Un 
der  Table  A  I,  A  II,  etc.,  are  recorded  the  relative  number  of 
authenticated  performances  for  different  types  of  plays  and  the 
percentage  of  plays  of  a  given  type  performed  on  a  particular 
stage  compared  to  the  total  number  of  plays  performed  on  that 
stage.  In  order  to  indicate  the  relative  literary  value  of  the  sev 
eral  stages  the  plays  of  the  authors  who  receive  recognition  in 
the  annals  of  German  literary  history  are  tabulated  separately  in 
Table  B  I,  B  II,  etc. 

I.   1842-1859. 

THE  BEGINNINGS. 

In  the  instance  of  the  Volkstheater  a  number  of  stages 
during  the  period  in  the  history  of  the  German  drama  on  the  St. 
Louis  stage  ending  with  the  establishment  of  the  St.  Louis 
Opernhaus  at  times  announced  performances  without  giving  the 
title  of  plays  to  be  staged.  Moreover,  as  protests  in  the  news 
paper  columns  indicate,  in  some  instances  titles  of  plays  were 
changed  ad  libitum,  making  it  impossible,  inasmuch  as  the  casts 
of  characters  were  not  printed,  to  identify  such  plays.  In  sev 
eral  instances  extant  records  present  slight  gaps  (cf.  Preface} 
and  therefore  do  not  permit  reconstruction  of  the  repertory  of 
the  contemporary  theatres  with  completeness.  Statistical  in 
formation  contained  in  the  tables  for  this  period  is  therefore 
based  upon  repertories  which  are  representative,  but  cannot  rep 
resent  scientific  accuracy. 

TABLE  A  I. 

Abbreviations:  LT — all  Liebhabertheater  antedating  the 
Philodramatische  Gesellschaft  (-Ph).  TH— Turnhalle  1857- 
1859.  B— Benrodt-Botzow.  W— Hermann- Wolff.  Kl— Kliin- 
der,  including  performances  by  his  company  after  he  resigned 


76 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 


management.  R — Ruedi's  Volksgarten,  including  performances 
November  21,  1860,  to  March  31,  1861.  St — St.  Louis  Stadt- 
theater.  Fl— Flora  Garten.  Ap— Apollo  Garten.  VT— all 
Volkstheater  performances,  except  R,  St,  Fl,  Ap.  Av — average 
percentage  for  all  plays  recorded  for  the  period  of  the  begin 
nings.  In  this  and  subsequent  tables  figures  in  left-hand  col 
umns  indicate  number  of  performances,  those  in  right-hand  col 
umn  percentages. 


Trauerspiel    

Schauspiel,  Drama  . . . 

Volksstuck,  Charakter- 
gemalde,    etc.     . . . 

Lustspiel    

Posse,    Schwank,   etc.. 

Singspiel,  Vaude 
ville,  etc 

Operette     

Total   170: 


Trauerspiel    

Schauspiel,   Drama   . . 

Volksstuck,  Charakter 
gemalde,  etc 

Lustspiel   137 

Posse,  Schwank,  etc. 

Singspiel,  Vaude 
ville,  etc 

Operette    


Total 


LT 

Ph 

TH 

B 

W 

Kl. 

23:14— 

i  :oi  — 

i  :oi  — 

3  :O4 

2:03— 

I  :oi  — 

43:25+ 

4:07  + 

7:12— 

17:23— 

22:28  — 

19:21  — 

9:05+ 

4:07+ 

4:07— 

8:11— 

10:13— 

12:13  + 

59  :35— 

27:50 

22  :37— 

21:28 

15:19  — 

17:18+ 

24:14+ 

15:28— 

18:30 

23  :24— 

19  :24+ 

36:39+ 

1  1  :o7  — 

2  :o4  — 

8:13+ 

3:04 

9:11  + 

6:07-— 

i  :oi  — 

i  :oi  — 

o:  o 

o:  o 

2:03  — 

i  :oi  — 

[70: 

54: 

60: 

75: 

79: 

92: 

R 

St 

Fl 

Ap 

VT      Total  Av. 

2:01— 

o:  o 

4:02+ 

2:02+ 

i  :oi— 

40  :o3— 

56:16— 

13:13— 

27  :  14  — 

15:16+ 

27:10+ 

250  :02  — 

53:i5— 

4:04— 

19:10  — 

J3  :*4— 

26:10— 

162:10+ 

^37  :38+ 

34  :34— 

76:38+ 

14:15+ 

90:34+ 

430:28— 

86:24+ 

37  :37— 

68:34+ 

44:47  + 

102:42+ 

554:04- 

22  :o6+ 

6:06— 

5  *^3 

5:05  + 

15:06— 

92:06— 

i  :oi— 

7  :07'— 

o:  o 

o:  o 

3:01  + 

16:01— 

557: 

101  : 

199: 

93: 

264: 

1544: 

TABLE  B  I. 

(Abbreviations  as  in  Table  A  I.  Figures  indicate  number 
of  times  performed.) 

GOETHE:  Clavigo  LTi,  Faust  Bi,  Sti,  Fli.  SCHILLER: 
Kabale  und  Liebe  LT4,  TH2,  Bi,  Ri,  Fli,  Maria  Stuart  LTi, 
Die  Rauber  LT5,  Wi,  KLa,  R2,  VTi,  Wallensteins  Lager  Wi, 
Wallensteins  Tod  LT3,  Wilhelm  Tell  LT4,  B2,  Wi,  Kli,  R$. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  77 

LESSING:  Minna  von  Barnhelm  *  i.  SHAKESPEARE:  Hamlet 
LTi,  Ri,  Der  Kaufmann  von  Vencdig  LT5,  Wi,  Macbeth  LT5, 
Othello  LT3,  Romeo  und  Julie  Ri,  Der  Widerspenstigen  Zah- 
mung**  LTi,  Ph2,  TH2,  Bi,  R4,  St2,  Fl4,  VT2.  GRILLPARZER: 
Die  Ahnfrau  LT2,  Kl2.  GUTZKOW  :  Das  Urbild  der  Tartiiffe 
THi,  Uriel  Acosta  Bi,  Wi,  Fb,  Api,  VTi,  Zopf  und  Schwert 
Api.  KOERNER:  Die  Braut  VTi,  Hedwig,  die  Banditenbraut 
LT2,  63,  St3,  Fl2,  VT3,  Das  Katchen  von  Heilbron  LTi,  Bi, 
R2,  Sti,  Fli,  Kriegers  Heimkehr  R3,  Der  Nachtwachter  LTi, 
THi,  Bi,  Ri,  VTi,  Toni  LTi,  Ri,  Zriny  LT2,  Wi.  LAUBE: 
Graf  Essex  Api,  Die  Karlsschiiler  Api,  VT2,  Prinz  Friedrich 
Api.  RAIMUND:  Der  Alpenkonig  und  der  Menschenfeind  W"3, 
Kli,  R3,  Der  Bauer  als  Millionar  Ap2,  Der  Verschvvender  Ph3, 
W2,  Kli,  Sti,  Fh,  AP2. 


II.    1859-1861. 

THE  ST.  LOUIS  OPERNHAUS. 

Extant  records  for  the  performances  from  April  21  to  Oc 
tober  19,  1860,  are  incomplete  (cf.  Preface).  The  reconstructed 
repertory  for  the  Opernhaus  is,  however,  practically  complete, 
for  fifteen  of  the  theatrical  performances  for  the  period  between 
April  21  and  October  19  are  accounted  for,  and  it  was  during 
this  period  that  the  performances  of  the  Colson  and  the  New 
Orleans  opera  companies,  of  the  Siegrist-Zamfretta  corps  de 
ballet  and  of  the  concert  company  of  Anna  Bishop  alternated 
with  the  German  theatrical  performances. 


*Lessing's  Minna  von  Barnhelm  was  performed  on  February  18,  1857,  at 
a  "klassischer  Buhnen-Abend,"  arranged  by  Bornstein  to  celebrate  the  organ 
ization  of  the  "Detttsches  Institut  fur  Wissenschaft,  Kunst  und  Gewerbe." 
The  program,  carried  out  by  an  ensemble  made  up  of  the  best  talent  on 
Wolff's  stage  and  former  members  of  the  Philodramatische  Gesellschaft,  was 
made  up  of  the  Overture  to  Weber's  Freischiitz,  a  prologue  composed  and 
spoken  by  Bornstein,  Beethoven's  Overture  to  Egmtmt,  a  scene  from  Egmont, 
the  Overture  to  Mozart's  Zauberflote,  a  scene  from  Kabale  und  Liebe,  We 
ber's  Overture  to  Oberon,  and  Minna  von  Barnhelm. 

**Usually  given  in  Holbein's  version,  Die  bezahmte  Widerspenstige. 


78  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

TABLE  A  II. 

Trauerspiel    36  :i  i  + 

Schauspiel,  Drama 54 :2O+ 

Volksstiick,  Charaktergemalde,  etc 36:13+ 

Lustspiel    37 114 — • 

Posse,  Schwank,  etc.*   100:37+ 

Singspiel,  Vaudeville,  etc 6 :02  + 

Total    269 : 

TABLE  B  II. 

GOETHE:  Egmont  i,  Faust  4,  Gotz  i.  SCHILLER:  Don 
Karlos  2,  Fiesco  2,  Jungfrau  von  Orleans  i,  Kabale  und  Liebe  3, 
Maria  Stuart  2,  Die  Rauber  2,  Wallensteins  Tod  4,  Wilhelm 
Tell  i.  SHAKESPEARE:  Hamlet  3,  Kaufmann  von  Venedig  i, 
Lear  i,  Macbeth  i,  Othello  2,  Romeo  und  Julie  i.  GUTZKOW  : 
Das  Urbild  der  Tartiiffe  i.  LAUBE:  Graf  Essex  i,  Die  Karls- 
schiiler  i,  Montrose,  der  schwarge  Markgraf  3,  Prinz  Friedrich 
i.  RAIMUND:  Der  Barometermacher  24,  Der  Verschwender  2. 

III.    1861-1891. 

A.  1861-1867.    ^  New  Era  Begins.     The  Directorship  of 
Wilhelm  Koser. 

B.  1867-1870.    An  Uneventful  Period  of  Decline. 

TABLE  A  III  AB. 

Abbreviations:  A — Pfeiffer  directorship  May  18  to  Octo 
ber  21,  1862;  B — Rosinski-Follger-Bottner  directorship  June  i 
to  August  24,  1862;  C — Koser  directorship  1862-1867;  D — Lew- 
en's  directorship  May  21  to  September  24,  1865;  E — Follger  di 
rectorship  May  3  to  August  17,  1866;  F — the  Apollo  stage 
1867-1870. 


*Including  24  performances  of  Raimund's  Barometermacher,  and  17  per 
formances  of  Der  Zauberschleier,  adapted  from  Scribe  by  Told. 


German  Drama  on  the  St,  Louis  Stage  79 

A              B              C              D  E  F 

Trauerspiel   0:0          0:0        46:05 —  3:02+  4:04        27:03 — 

Schauspiel,  Drama  ...  22:214-       1:03 —  184:19+  29:21 —  15:13 —  107:11 — 
Volksstiick,  Charakter- 

gemalde,  etc 5:05—  4:11—145:15+  16:11—  24:21—145:14+ 

Lustspiel    49:47+  10:26+  236:25 —  47:31+  28:24 —  224:22  + 

Posse,   Schwank,  etc..  28:27 —  23:61 —  232:25 —  41:28 —  27:23+  316:31  + 

Singspiel,  etc 0:0  0:0        55  :oo—  12:08+  10:09—    84:08+ 

Oper,  Operette   0:0  0:0       47:05 —  o:  o  9:08—  115:11  + 

Total   104:  38:          945:  148:  117:        1018: 

C.  1870-1880.    Opera  on  the  Apollo  Stage  1870-1875.    The 
Pelosi  Directorship  1871-1880. 

D.  1880-1801.    A  Period  of  Varying  Fortune. 

TABLE  A  III  CD. 

Abbreviations:    G — the  Apollo  stage,  summer  1870  to  June 
22,  1875,  exclusive  of  the  winter  season  1870-1871,  during  which 
Pelosi  had  charge  of  the  Apollo  stage;  H — the  Pelosi  director 
ship   1871-1880;  I — German  performances  in  De  Bar's  Opera 
House   1876-1877;  J — performances  under  Wurster's  director 
ship  1876-1878;  K — the  Rieckhoff  directorship  1879-1882;  L— 
Wurster's  directorship    1881-1882;   M — Pelosi-Sarner   director 
ship  1883-1884;  N — the  Apollo  under  Schmitz  1887-1891;  X— 
all  performances  for  the  period  1861-1891  not  included  under 
the  above   headings;   T — total   number   of  performances;  Av— 
average  percentage  for  all  plays  recorded  for  the  period  1861- 
1891. 

G             H  I              J  K  L 

Trauerspiel   10  :oi—    12  :o3+  i  :O2—      3 104+  5 :03—  o :  o 

Schauspiel,    Drama    ..  78:08+     59:i5  +  6:12—      8:11+  15:08—  7:13— 
Volksstiick,  Charakter- 

gemalde,  etc 150:17—    69:18+  17:33+  20:28+  32:17—  12:22— 

Lustspiel    107:11+     97:25+  9:18—20:28+     61:32+  21:36+ 

Posse,   Schwank,   etc.. 131:14—  138:36+  7:13+  19:27—  49:26—  12:22— 

Singspiel,  etc 37:04—      I  :oi—  7:13+       1:01+  10:05+  0:0 

Oper,  Operette    431  '47+      5:oi+  4:08—      0:0  18:09+  3:05  + 

Total    .              ..944:          38i:  5i:  7i:  100:  55: 


8o  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

M  N            X          T  Av. 

Trauerspiel    3  :  10+  I  :oi —      9  :o2 —     124 103 — 

Schauspiel,  Drama  1:03+  32:17+     46:10 —    610:13 — 

Volksstiick,   Charaktergemalde,   etc 3:10+  47:26 —    88:18+     777:16+ 

Lustspiel  8 :28 —  14  :o8 —  1 10 123 —  1041 :22 — 

Posse,  Schwank,  etc 14:48+  72:39+  189:39+   1298:27+ 

Singspiel,   etc 0:0  2:01+     16:03+     235:05 — 

Oper,   Operette    0:0  15:08+     21:04        668:14+ 

Total   29:  183:          479:          4753: 

TABLE  B  III. 
(Abbreviations  as  in  Table  A  III,  a,  b,  c,  d.) 

GOETHE:  Clavigo  F2,  Egmont  Fi,  63,  Hi,  Faust  €4,  Ei, 
Fi,  Ji,  Iphigenie  X2.  SCHILLER:  Die  Braut  von  Messina  €5, 
Fi,  Hi,  Don  Carlos  Ci,  Fi,  Ki,  Fiesco  Ci,  Di,  Jungfrau  von 
Orleans  €5,  Fi,  Hi,  Ki,  Mi,  Kabale  und  Liebe  C2,  Fi,  G2,  Ji, 
Xi,  Maria  Stuart  €3,  Ei,  F2,  Hi,  Ki,  Mi,  Die  Rauber  CQ,  Di, 
F3,  Gi,  H3,  Ki,  Ni,  Xi,  Wallensteins  Lager  C2,  F2,  Hi,  Wal- 
lensteins  Tod  Ci,  Wilhelm  Tell  €4,  F2,  H4,  Ni,  Xi.  Gozzi 
(SCHILLER)  :  Turandot  F2.  LESSING:  Emilia  Galotti  Di,  Na 
than  der  Weise  Ci,  Li,  Xi.  SHAKESPEARE:  Hamlet  €4,  I?5, 
Hi,  Ki,  Kaufmann  von  Venedig  03,  Gi,  X3,  Die  Komodie  von 
Irrungen  Ni,  Die  lustige  Weiber  von  Windsor  Di,  Macbeth  Fi, 
Othello  Ci,  F3,  Gi,  Ji,  Xi,  Richard  III  Ci,  Romeo  und  Julie 
Ci,  Di,  Fi,  Ein  Sommernachtstraum  Fi,  Der  Wider spenstigen 
Zahmung  Ci,  F3,  Hi,  Li,  Ki,  Ein  Wintermarchen  €5.  AN- 
ZENGRUBER:  Der  Herrgottschnitzer  von  Ammergau  N2,  Herz 
und  Hand  J2,  Der  Meineidbauer  G6,  Ki,  Ni,  Der  Pfarrer  von 
Kirchfeld  G3,  Ni.  FREYTAG:  Graf  Waldemar  Ki,  Die  Journa- 
listen  Fi,  Hi,  Ki,  Die  Valentine  Ci,  Ki.  GEIBEL:  Brunhild 
Xi.  GRILLPARZER:  Medea  C2,  H2,  Mi.  GUTZKOW:  Der  drei- 
zehnte  November  Ci,  Der  Konigsleutnant  C2,  £2,  F2,  Li,  K2, 
Richard  Savage  Di,  Das  Urbild  des  Tartiifre  03,  Ki,  Uriel 
Acosta  C6,  Gi,  Ii,  Ni,  Zopf  und  Schwerdt  C2,  Ei,  Gi,  Hi,  Ki. 
HEBBEL:  Genoveva  C3,  F2,  Gi,  N2.  KLEIST:  Das  Katchen  von 
Heilbronn  €3,  F2,  G3,  Hi,  Ki,  N3.  LAUBE:  Bose  Zungen  F4. 
H4,  Graf  Essex  €3,  Di,  Ei,  F2,  H2,  Die  Karlschiiler  Ai,  C5, 
H3,  Xi,  Montrose  Xi,  Prinz  Friedrich  G3.  RAIMUND:  Der 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  8 1 

Alpenkonig  €3,  Fi,  Der  Barometermacher  G?,  Der  Bauer  ah 
Millionar  C$,  Fi,  Der  Verschwender  €4,  D2,  Ei,  F<4,  64,  Ii,  Xi. 

IV.    1891-1911. 

A  REVIVAL  OF  INTEREST.     THE  GERMANIA  THEATER.      THE  DIREC 
TORSHIP  OF  HEINEMANN  AND  WELB. 

TABLE  A  IV. 

Abbreviations :  A — the  German  stage  under  the  director 
ship  of  Sarner  and  Riotte  1890-1891;  B — under  Sarner  1891- 
1892;  C — the  Germania  Theater  under  Waldemar  and  Buechel 
1892-1893;  D — the  Germania  under  Wurster  1893-1896;  E — the 
stage  under  Stolte  1896-1898;  F — the  Germania  under  Mme. 
Frandsch  1899-1900;  G — the  directorship  of  Heinemann  and 
Welb  1898-1911.  T — total  number  of  plays  staged  during  the 
period  1891-1911 ;  Av — average  percentage  for  all  plays  recorded 
for  this  period. 

ABC  D 

Trauerspiel   I  :oi—       1 103—     13:11—  10 104— 

Schauspiel,  Drama  19 124—      0:0        34 128+  67  :24+ 

Volksstikk,  Charaktergemalde,  etc 9:11+       5:14 —      9:07 —  42:15  + 

Lustspiel    24:30          8:22+     40:33+  65:23  + 

Posse,  Schwank,  etc 13  :i6+  22  :6i  +     24  :20 —  91  .-33 — 

Singspiel,  etc 3  -04 —      0:0          0:0  0:0 

Operette   11:14—      0:0          I  :oi—        3:01  + 

Total    80:  36:          121 :  278: 

E  F             G  T  Av 

Trauerspiel    4:06—  i  :oi—     18:03+  48:04— 

Schauspiel,    Drama    6  :o8—  10  :i8—  129 122+  265  :22— 

Volksstiick,  Charaktergemalde,  etc 19:27—  13:23+  104:18—  201:16+ 

Lustspiel    16:23—  ii  :2o—  147:25+  3^  :25  + 

Posse,  Schwank,  etc 17  :24—  20:36—  164 :2g—  351 :2Q— 

Singspiel,  etc 0:0  0:0          3  :oi—  6  :oi— 

Operette   9:13—  i  :oi—     18:03+  43:04— 

Total   .                                             .  71:  56:          583:  1225: 


82  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage 

TABLE  B  IV. 
(Abbreviations  as  in  Table  A  IV.) 

GOETHE:  Egmont  Ci,  Faust  C2,  Di.  SCHILLER:  Die 
Braut  von  Messina  Ci,  Gi,  Don  Carlos  Ci,  Gi,  Fiesco  Ci,  Gi, 
Jungfrau  von  Orleans  Ci,  Di,  Gi,  Kabale  und  Liebe  Ai,  Ci, 
Di,  G3,  Maria  Stuart  Ci,  Di,  Fi,  G4,  Piccolomini  Ci,  Die  Rau- 
ber  Ai,  Ci,  Di,  G3,  Wallensteins  Lager  Ci,  Wallensteins  Tod 
Di,  Gi,  Wilhelm  Tell  A4,  Di,  G4.  LESSING :  Emilie  Galotti  Ci, 
Di,  Gi,  Minna  von  Barnhelm  Ci,  Di,  G2.  SHAKESPEARE: 
Hamlet  Di,  Gi,  Kaufmann  von  Venedig  Di,  Die  lustigen  Wei- 
ber  von  Windsor  Gi,  Othello  Bi,  Ci,  Di,  £4,  Gi,  Richard  III 
Di,  Romeo  und  Julie  Ci,  Der  Widerspenstigen  Zahmung  Ci, 
D2,  Gi,  Ein  Wintermarchen  €2.  ANZENGRUBER:  Heimgefun- 
den  (Weihnachtsstiick)  G3,  Meineidbauer  Di,  Gi,  Der  Pfarrer 
von  Kirchfeld  Ei,  G2,  Das  vierte  Gebot  Gi.  BJOERNSEN:  Ein 
Fallissement  G2.  FREYTAG  :  Graf  Waldemar  Gi,  Die  Journalisteri 
A2.  FULDA  :  Jugendfreunde  G2,  Die  Sklavin  Di,  Fi,  Der  Talis 
man  G2,  Unter  vier  Augen  Di,  Das  verlorene  Paradies  05,  G3, 
Die  wilde  Jagd  Di,  Fi,  G2.  GEIBEL:  Meister  Andrea  Gi. 
GUTZKOW:  Das  Urbild  der  Tartiiffe  G2,  Uriel  Acosta 
Ci,  Di,  G2,  Zopf  und  Schwerdt  Di.  GRILLPARZER:  Des 
Meeres  und  der  Liebe  Wellen  Di.  HAUPTMANN  :  Der  Biber- 
pelz  Gi,  College  Crampton  Di,  Die  Weber  Gi.  HEBBEL: 
Maria  Magdalena  Gi.  IBSEN:  Gespenster  Ai,  Gi,  Ein  Pup- 
penheim  Ei,  Stiitzen  der  Gesellschaft  Ci,  Gi.  KLEIST: 
Das  Katchen  von  Heilbronn  Ci,  G2.  LAUBE:  Bose  Zungen 
Di,  Graf  Essex  Ci,  Di,  Gi,  Die  Karlsschiiler  AJ, 
Di,  Ei,  G2.  RAIMUND:  Der  Verschwender  Ci,  Ei,  G3-  Su- 
DERMANN:  Die  Ehre  A3,  C2,  GS,  Es  lebe  das  Leben  G2,  Das 
Gliick  im  Winkel  G2,  Die  Heimat  C2,  D2,  G4,  Johannisfeuer  G4, 
Die  Schmetterlingsschlacht  Di,  Gi,  Sodoms  Ende  D2,  Fi,  Gi, 
Stein  und  Steinen  Gi.  WILBRANDT:  Die  Tochter  des  Herrn 
Fabricius  D2,  Fi.  WILDE:  Salome  Gi.  WILDENBRUCH  :  Die 
Haubenlerche  Ci,  G2,  Der  Menonit  Di,  Die  Quitzows  Ci,  Die 
Rabensteinerin  Gi,  Vater  und  Sohn,  oder  Aus  Deutschlands 
schwerer  Zeit  (Vaterlandisches  Schauspiel)  Gi. 


German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage  83 

V.    1911-1914. 

THE   PRESENT   DIRECTORSHIP.      THE   VICTORIA   THEATER. 

TABLE  A  V.* 

Trauerspiel    3 103— 

Schauspiel,  Drama 17:17— 

Volksstiick,  Charaktergemalde,  etc 16:16 — 

Lustspiel    19:19— 

Posse,  Schwank,  etc 27  :26+ 

Singspiel    i  :oi— 

Operette 19  :i9 

Total    102: 

TABLE  B  V. 

GOETHE:  Faust  i,  Iphigenie  i.  SCHILLER:  Maria  Stuart  i, 
Wilhelm  Tell  i.  IBSEN:  Der  Volksfeind  i.  SCHOENHERR: 
Glaube  und  Heimat  i.  SUDERMANN:  Die  Heimat  i,  Der  gute 
Ruf  i. 


*These   tables    do   not    include   plays    given    under    the    auspices    of    the 
"Kunstbienen." 


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Ph.   D.     386  pp.     Price  ...............................................     $3.50 

19.  Dickens'  Einfluss  auf  Ungern-Sternberg,  Hesslein,  Stolle    Raabc  und  Ebncr- 

Eschenbach.     By  J.  Theodor  Geissendoerfer,  Ph.  D.     51  pp.     Price  .......     $1.00 

20.  Whitticr's  Relation  to   German  Life   and   Thought.     By  lola  Kay   Eastburn 

Ph.   D.      161  pp.     Price  ..............................................  .'    $2.00 

21.  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Germany.     By  Beatrice  Marguerite  Victory    Ph    D 

180   pp.      Price  ..............................................    .'....'...'    $2.00 

22.  Die  <  Deutschamerikanische  Patriotische  Lyrik  der  Achtundvierziger  und  Ihre 

Histonsche  Grundlage.     By  Gottlieb  Betz,  Ph.  D.     131pp.     Price.  .......     $1.50 

23.  Heine  in  America.     By  H.  B.  Sachs,  Ph.  D.     193  pp.     Price  $•>  00 

24.  Socialism  {\^e™an  American  Literature.     By  William  Frederic'  Kam'man, 

25.  Robert  Reitzcl.     By  Adolf  E.  Zucker,  Ph.  D      74  pp      Price 

;-  ' 


F.  Haussmann,  Ph.  D.  Price 
ung's  Conjectures  on  Original 
Max  Stemke.  125  pp.  Price 

29.   The  Syntax  of  Brant's  Narrenschiff.     By  Henry  Dexter  Learned    Ph    D 

' 


.    , 
28.   Young's  Conjectures  on  Original  Composition  in  England  and  America  '  '  By 

Max  Stemke.     125  pp.     Price  ................................  .  '  '    .\  _  _    [     $1  50 

' 


............     $1.50 

30.  The  Approach  of  Academic  to  Spoken  Style  in  German.     A  Study  in  Popular 

Scientific   Prose   from    1850   to    1914.      By   Charles   Fischer   Sladen    Ph     D 

45    pp.      Price    ...............................................  !  ....'...'     $1.25 

31.  The   German  Drama  in  English  on  the  New   York  Stage   to  1830.      By  Louis 

Charles  Baker,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.     168  pp.     Price  ...................    .....       $1.50 

32.  The  German  Drama  on  the  St.  Louis  Stage.     By  Alfred  Henry  Nolle    Ph    D 

85  pp.   Price   ....................................................  '.  .  ."    $i.50 


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